Hepatitis C in England and the UK

On 14 December 2020, Public Health England (PHE) reported on hepatitis C (HCV) in England and the UK, with the data for Scotland provided by Public Health Scotland (PHS). In this report, PHE review progress towards World Health Organization (WHO) elimination targets, and highlight the actions needed to reach them. There is also a preliminary assessment of the early impact of COVID-19 on hepatitis services and monitoring in the UK.

PHE report that in the UK in 2019, an estimated 118,000 people were chronically infected with HCV, a fall of around one-third since 2015. Injecting drug use continues to be the most important risk factor for HCV infection in the UK, with data from UK surveys of people who inject drugs suggesting that in 2019 just over half of this group tested positive for HCV antibody, and just under one-quarter had evidence of current infection.

Source: PHE, 14 December 2020