Hep C timebomb for 10,000 Scots
Sufferers don’t even realise they have virus
MORE than 10,000 Scots have the hepatitis virus without knowing it, experts have warned.
New diagnoses of the disease dropped to a 20-year low last year, with only 1,423 cases recorded.
But an estimated 10,500 people remain undiagnosed, prompting calls to step up efforts to halt the spread of the virus.
Figures published yesterday in Health Protection Scotland’s Hepatitis C Surveillance report found diagnoses had dropped by 36 per cent since peaking at 2,229 in 2011.
Rachel Halford, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said: ‘These new figures show a worrying slowdown in new diagnoses. We know there are still over 10,000 people living with an undiagnosed infection of hepatitis C so it is highly concerning we are seeing a drop-off in diagnoses.
‘We urgently need to see the Scottish Government make sure Scotland gets back on track to achieving elimination by its target of 2030.’
Hepatitis C is a virus that is usually spread through blood-to-blood contact, such as sharing needles.
Earlier this month, a public inquiry heard from a number of NHS patients who contracted the virus during the 1970s and 1980s after receiving blood transfusions and treatments before safety measures were introduced.
Around 3,000 Scots were infected with HIV and hepatitis C contained in contaminated blood products.
The virus can infect the liver and if left untreated can sometimes cause serious and potentially life-threatening damage over many years.
In 2018 there were 1,423 new diagnoses of hepatitis C, compared with 1,511 the previous year and 1,814 in 2015.
The 2018 figures are the lowest number of newly detected cases since the 1,352 in 1996.
Last year, 61,376 Scots were tested for hepatitis C, a 3 per cent increase on the previous year and the second highest annual total.
Anyone testing positive is offered another blood test several months later. If the infection continues, known as chronic hepatitis, treatment is recommended.
The current treatment regime is a course of anti-viral tablets, which are taken for up to 12 weeks. They cure most cases of the disease.
Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: ‘I welcome this latest report from Health Protection Scotland, which shows that over 2,600 people were treated for hepatitis C during 2018-19.
‘This significantly exceeds the target of 2,000 treatment initiations and I would like to recognise the hard work of NHS, the third sector and Health Protection Scotland in making this happen.
‘It is important that we maintain momentum and keep getting people tested and into treatment.
‘We must keep getting the message out that hepatitis C can be cured with a short course of pills and that anyone who has ever been at risk should get tested.’
‘A worrying slowdown’