Hepatitis C in the UK: 2016 report

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Hepatitis C in the UK: 2016 report

29 July 2016

HCV is a bloodborne virus that is often asymptomatic, and symptoms may not appear until the liver is severely damaged. As a consequence, many individuals with chronic HCV infection remain undiagnosed and fail to access treatment. These individuals can then present late with complications of HCV-related end-stage liver disease (ESLD) and cancer, which have poor survival rates.

Hepatitis C is a curable infection, and it is our aspiration to support the WHO in its goal to eliminate hepatitis C as a major public health threat by 2030. This can be achieved via the collective action of all partner organisations involved in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of those living with, or at risk of acquiring, HCV infection. National action plans to tackle hepatitis C are already in place, and being developed across the UK, including the Liver Disease Delivery Plan for NHS Wales and its Partners to 2020 and the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework, 2015- 2020 Update in Scotland. In England, NHS England is producing an operational framework setting out its commitment to improve outcomes in hepatitis C, and PHE plans to capture the wider public health activities in an England report later this year.

Informed by Global Health Sector Strategy (GHSS) goals and targets (see Appendix 1), countries are called upon to develop, as soon as practicable, ambitious national goals and targets for 2020 and beyond. These are intended to take into consideration the country context, including the country-specific nature and dynamics of viral hepatitis, the populations affected, the structure and capacity of the health care and community systems, as well as the resources that can be mobilised. Targets also need to be feasible and developed based on country realities, the best possible data, trends and responses, and should be monitored through a set of standard, measurable indicators.

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