Hepatitis C in the UK report shows 11% fall in deaths from hepatitis C, though prevalence remains stable

Public Health England has published its annual ‘Hepatitis C in the UK’ report for 2018 – the key national reporting document setting out progress towards eliminating hepatitis C.
Encouragingly, the report indicates an 11% fall in deaths from hepatitis C in 2017, building on a 3% fall in deaths in 2016. The proportion of at-risk groups being tested is increasing, with surveys estimating that two thirds of people who inject drugs are now aware of their HCV-positive status. More people are accessing treatment than ever before, with an increase of 19% on the previous year.
However, there has not been any significant reduction in overall prevalence of hepatitis C or numbers of new infections, demonstrating that it will still be a significant challenge to achieve the World Health Organization targets to reduce new cases of hepatitis C by 30% by 2020 and 80% by 2030.
Much more must be done to improve prevention and increase numbers of people tested and treated to move towards elimination and achieve the World Health Organization 2030 targets.
Read the report via the HCV Action resource library here.