New Phase Of National Hepatitis C Awareness Campaign Launched For GPs, UK

Main Category: Liver Disease / Hepatitis
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 14 Jan 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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The Department of Health is gearing up to launch a hepatitis C public health campaign to improve detection and diagnosis among the 100,000 people in England who are thought to be unaware they have the infection.

The campaign will get underway at the start of next month with radio and press advertising to remind the public of life experiences that could have exposed them to infection.

GPs will be encouraged to support the campaign by offering information and testing for patients in at risk groups.

The campaign coincides with the 20th anniversary of the virus being identified and follows a recent letter from the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officers to Primary Care Trusts on improving the detection and diagnosis of hepatitis C in primary care.

Many people who have hepatitis C do not show symptoms for many years and may have normal liver function tests. Over time, hepatitis C can cause serious liver damage (cirrhosis, primary liver cancer or liver failure), which can be prevented by effective drug therapy.

The Department is calling on GPs to be extra vigilant and consider testing for the virus in patients in at risk groups such as those who may have injected drugs in the past, even if only once or twice or a long time ago, or those who may have had a tattoo or piercing with unsterile equipment.

In the lead up to the campaign, a number of information resources are being made available for health professionals, including on NHS Choices, a quick reference guide for primary care and a new patient information leaflet.

Professor Steve Field, Chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners said: "We are pleased to see the launch of a new phase of the Department of Health's campaign to raise awareness of hepatitis C amongst GPs and the public. GPs play an important role in detection and diagnosis of hepatitis C and we want this to continue. It is important to make sure that healthcare professionals are aware of the transmission routes, and diagnosis and treatment of the virus, so that patients at risk are identified at the earliest possible opportunity and can be treated effectively."

- The Department of Health's hepatitis C awareness campaign aims to raise awareness of the virus, which was first identified in 1989, and improve its prevention, diagnosis and treatment, while tackling the stigma often attached to it.

- Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that causes chronic infection that can lead to serious liver damage (cirrhosis and primary liver cancer). It is recognised as a significant public health problem worldwide. In England, it is estimated that there are approximately 100,000 people with chronic hepatitis C infection and that about half of these are probably unaware of their infection.

- There is currently no vaccine against hepatitis C, so prevention of new infections is particularly important. There is effective antiviral drug treatment, which has been approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Lifestyle changes, in particular decreasing alcohol intake, can delay the onset of liver disease.

- The Department of Health's hepatitis C awareness campaign supports the Hepatitis C Action Plan for England, which seek to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C. The Action Plan is available on the DH website at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/publications.

- GPs and other health professionals are being alerted to the campaign in advance of a public launch at the end of January. Formerly called 'Face It', the new campaign will place a greater focus on targeting high risk groups, such as former intravenous drug users, and will include press and radio advertising and news and features in the media. A specific arm of the campaign will also target South Asians following emerging evidence that some of these communities in England may be at increased risk of infection.

- The advertising campaign, which focuses on the theme 'Have you ever?', poses a series of questions to the public, encouraging them to think about life experiences which may have exposed them to hepatitis C infection. Examples of these life experiences will also be profiled in a number of short film clips for the public about the issues surrounding hepatitis C, including interviews with patients, GPs and other healthcare professionals. These will be available from February on the NHS Choices website (http://www.nhs.uk/hepc).

- Free hepatitis C information resources such as Hepatitis C: quick reference guide for primary care and patient leaflets are available at http://www.orderline.dh.gov.uk or http://www.nhs.uk/hepc.

http://www.dh.gov.uk