Posted: 6-Oct-2006 << BACK
Hundreds of Sheffield people who dabbled in drugs during their youth are being urged to have tests for a potentially deadly liver virus.
Around two-thirds of people with Hepatitis C do not realise they have the virus which can be symptomless for many years, but in later life can cause serious liver conditions, including cancer.
In Sheffield it is thought around 3,500 people inject drugs and around 40 per cent of them are infected with Hepatitis C.But there could be many others who injected drugs once or twice in their youth could have caught the virus. Medication used to be available only to people who had developed significant liver damage but NHS guidance now mean all those with the virus can be treated in either hospital or a community clinic. Ray Poll, nurse consultant for viral hepatitis at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, said: "We can treat everyone with Hepatitis C and people don't have to have significant liver damage." People who received a blood transfusion before 1991 when screening in the UK started could also be at risk.
One success case is a 51-year-old Sheffield woman Janet, a drug user for 30 years, who has been successfully treated for Hepatitis C. She became ill in 1995 with flu-like symptoms and thought the illness was due to her drug use so went into a treatment programme and was prescribed methadone, the heroin substitute. But her symptoms stayed the same and she was tested for Hepatitis C which came back as positive.
Janet, who does not want to reveal her surname, needed six months of treatment involving a weekly injection and taking tablets daily. The treatment can cause hair loss, depression and mood swings. Janet said the support she received from doctors, nurses, social workers and psychologists was crucial. She finished her treatment in July 2005 and said: "They can't find the virus. Life feels fantastic and is really good. I would encourage anybody to get the test."
Sheffield Today 5th October 2006
