Unnecessary deaths from hepatitis C blamed on ‘unacceptable’ health services

Deaths caused by the blood-borne virus, which affects the liver, have quadrupled since
1996, the Hepatitis C Coalition claimed. It blamed poor service provision and late identification and treatment and warned deaths could continue to grow
for at least 20 years if left unchecked.

And it called for ministers to commit to halving liver cancers and deaths related to the virus by 2020 and completely eliminate it by 2030.

The coalition’s chairman, Professor Mark Thursz, said: “We are in a very fortunate position to have cost effective treatments that will cure the majority of hepatitis C patients but we need to find these patients and treat them.

“To seize this opportunity we need strong national leadership, co-ordination and oversight to ensure patients do not die prematurely when a cure is available.”

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, actress Pamela Anderson and singer Marianne Faithfull are among high-profile patients who have been diagnosed with hepatitis C.

About 160,000 people are chronically infected with hepatitis C in England alone, with an estimated 215,000 chronic patients in the UK. Deaths from the virus, which can infect and damage the cells of the liver, rose from 98 in 1996 to 428 in 2012, according to Public Health England.

It means deaths from hepatitis C are rising faster than any disease among the UK’s list of five “big killers” – heart disease, stroke, cancer, lung and liver disease. Although there is no vaccine, early treatment can successfully get rid of the virus and ongoing infection can be managed. The virus is spread through contact with an infected person’s blood and if left untreated can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer and death.