Minister for Public Health Anne Milton will join The All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group and national charity The Hepatitis C Trust to raise awareness of the high prevalence of hepatitis C in South Asian communities and the urgent need for action. South Asian community leaders, former England Rugby player Ikram Butt, hepatitis C patients and leading health professionals will join them to lend their support to this disastrously under-recognised issue.
Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus that primarily attacks the liver. It can lead to severe and potentially fatal liver disease and cancer. Although hepatitis C is curable, the majority of the 250,000 to 466,000 people who have it in the UK are undiagnosed.
In some parts of the UK the prevalence of hepatitis C in people from South Asia – particularly Pakistan – is five times that of the wider population. Not only is prevalence higher, but most have had the virus for longer and are therefore at much greater risk of premature death: over 10% of people who died from hepatitis C in the UK between 1996 and 2009 were born in Pakistan or Bangladesh. Improving awareness and early diagnosis is key to reducing hepatitis C among this group and saving lives.
Speaking ahead of the event, Charles Gore, Chief Executive of The Hepatitis C Trust, said:
“Awareness is fatally low in South Asian communities. We cannot go on ignoring this issue. If we all come together – Government, community leaders, clinicians and NGOs – and act now, we can prevent our hospitals filling up with people who are dying because they were diagnosed too late.
"It’s so tragic because these deaths are completely preventable. There is treatment that can eradicate the virus; the challenge is to find those affected so they can access it.”
Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group, Virendra Sharma MP, added:
“Raising awareness is absolutely crucial. Anyone who has had a blood transfusion, surgery, dental work, an injection or even a cut at a street barber in a high-prevalence country such as Pakistan should consider a hepatitis C test. Earlier diagnosis allows earlier treatment, and that will save lives.”
