This is Lancashire 28th July 2007
By Rob Devey
Calls for a campaign to raise awareness of the disease Hepatitis C has been backed by Bolton South-east MP Dr Brian Iddon.
The Hepatitis C Trust also wants the Government to do more to encourage people at risk of the killer infection to get tested.
It is thought that although nearly 1 per cent of Bolton's population - around 2,700 people - have the disease, only one in ten of them know about it.
Dr Iddon, who is vice-chairman of the all party group for Hepatitis C, said: "It is vital that these people are diagnosed so they can undergo treatment before it is too late.
"There is a scandalous lack of public awareness about the disease, even amongst some doctors and nurses.
"Treatments are more effective if they are started during early stages of the infection so it is vital that people who have been at risk get tested."
Dr Iddon has been called to give evidence at the inquiry into how thousands of haemophiliacs were contaminated with Hepatitis C and HIV in the 1970s.
