Call for action as hepatitis C cases surge

Senior News Reporter

Thursday 11 August 2011

ACTION is needed now to tackle an "epidemic" of hepatitis C, according to an adviser to the Scottish Government.

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BRIAN DONNELLY

Dr Roy Robertson, chair of the National Forum on Drug-Related Deaths, said around 1000 new cases are recorded in Scotland each year, but last year was a 10-year high with 857 cases in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and 274 in the Lothians.

An estimated 39,000 people in Scotland have hepatitis C but former drug users who are now becoming ill means services will have to cope with higher rates in coming years and predictions estimate the death rate will double over the next few years. Dr Robertson, an Edinburgh- based GP, said: “Hepatitis C is a hugely important epidemic and it’s almost entirely due to drug using. We’ve always expected there is going to be an increasing number of cases over many years. “Some who get the virus can clear it from their system and it’s no longer a problem. Others go on having the disease but don’t get ill for many years.”Dr Robertson said people who used drugs and shared needles in the 1980s are starting to become unwell from the virus.He continued: “Eventually the incubation period elapses and people begin to manifest cirrhosis and advanced liver failure and the death rate will undoubtedly increase over the next few years.” Estimates say the annual death toll in Scotland from causes related to hepatitis C could be as much as 200 by 2015.Dr Robertson, whose group helps to advise the Scottish Government, called for investment in treatment services.He said: “We treat probably about 1000 cases a year in Scotland, which clearly isn’t enough, and we need much more in terms of treatment services provision to reduce the size of the overall pool. For treatment services, now is the time.”Dr Robertson said more treatment would cure more people, who otherwise would go on to develop liver damage, and may slow the rate of the epidemic.“Liver specialists are going to be overwhelmed. Also, I think, treatment services are not sympathetic and not supportive in some areas. And I think we could do more to provide better treatment services for a difficult group of patients.”Gordon Peacock, a community worker at C-Level, a Glasgow-based support and prevention charity, said: “We deal with thousands of people each year. “C-Level is designed to help people – providing their testing, diagnosis and support through the treatment process. “But we also work with the community to try to prevent new cases. We could certainly do a lot more if we had more funding. ”Dr Saket Priyadarshi, lead clinician in addiction services for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and vice-chair of the National Forum on Drug-Related Deaths, said treating hepatitis C now would save millions of pounds in healthcare in the future.As well as users who inject heroin, people who share equipment for taking other drugs, including cocaine, are also at risk of contracting hepatitis C.A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Hepatitis C is a major public health issue and that is why we have delivered our Hepatitis C Action Plan.“As a result we have increased the numbers of people being treated from less than 500 in 2007-08 to more than 1000 last year. We have also seen increases in the numbers of people being diagnosed.”

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Call for action as hepatitis C cases surge

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