Over 5,500 people order Hep C home-testing kits
MORE than 5,500 free hepatitis C home tests have been ordered since the kits were launched a year ago, the health service has said.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus which infects the liver and, if left untreated, can cause serious and potentially life-threatening damage, leading to cirrhosis, possible liver failure and cancer – as well as a risk of spreading the disease.
It is estimated there are between 3,500 and 5,000 people with active chronic hepatitis C virus infection in Ireland
The free service, launched in April 2023, provides adults with the option to test for hepatitis C privately at home.
It involves a finger prick test, with a tiny blood sample dropped into a test tube, which is posted in a pre-paid envelope to a lab for analysis.
Those who require follow-up treatment are contacted and referred to a participating clinic or hospital.
Prof Aiden McCormick, Clinical Lead for the HSE National Hepatitis C Treatment Programme, said: ‘I am delighted with the take up of the HSE hepatitis C home testing service. It provides a discreet and confidential service for users, leading to quick diagnosis and intervention for those that have a positive test result. It’s providing increased opportunities for diagnosis and treatment.’ Hepatitis C often has no symptoms and the only way to know if you have it is to get tested.
People can become infected through blood-to-blood contact with someone who has the virus. Risk factors include sharing needles, unprotected sex with an infected person, and blood and organ donations done before 1992.
The service has increased access to testing, removing potential barriers such as embarrassment, cost, and time needed to travel for a face-to-face service.
People with positive results are contacted and further testing is arranged. Those diagnosed with the illness are fasttracked to treatment and cure.
Treatment is provided by the HSE for free. Tablets are effective and well-tolerated, with more than 95% of people cured in as little as eight to 12 weeks.
The at-home test is part of the HSE’s Hepatitis C Treatment Programme and is particularly aimed at people who are well but who may have had exposure to a risk of infection in the past.
The programme has already treated more than 7,000 people – 95% of whom are now cured – and is on track to reach the World Health Organisation elimination targets for 2030.
The confidential hepatitis C test can be ordered free of charge online from www.hse.ie/hepc