This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Action on hepatitis C
29/06/2005
A proposed action plan to tackle Hepatitis C
was launched for consultation today.
The plan aims to reduce the transmission of the virus
through awareness raising and also to improve diagnosis and
treatment.
It was jointly launched by Health Minister Andy Kerr and
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Peter Donnelly.
Andy Kerr said:
"This is a wide ranging piece of work with outlines
actions for a number of bodies to tackle Scotland's hidden
killer.
"I want to see NHS Boards, the voluntary sector, Health
Protection Scotland and professionals from a range of
specialities getting involved to help Hepatitis C sufferers
and promote understanding of the condition.
"Action includes the development of a new guideline for
the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with Hep C,
increased education and awareness for a broad range of
professional groups and more information on safe practice
for injecting drug users.
"Health Protection Scotland, NHS Health Scotland and NHS
Education Scotland will also work with the key stakeholders
to raise further awareness and understanding of Hepatitis
C.
"Once we have a finalised plan these measure will help
us make great strides in taking forward actions to improve
the prevention, diagnosis and treatment the virus.
"It is very important for us to get comments from all
sectors to ensure that the final Action Plan is a fair
reflection of what is needed in Scotland
Professor Peter Donnelly said:
"Hepatitis C is a significant public health problem
world-wide for which there is currently no vaccine.
Prevention of new infections is particularly important.
"It can infect a patient for decades before being
discovered but around 20 to 30 per cent of people with
chronic Hepatitis C will eventually face life-threatening
symptoms.
"Particularly prevalent among injecting drug users,
action needs to taken to reduce its transmission, so I am
pleased to see the proposed Action Plan for consultation
being published today.
"I'd like to thank those who have contributed so far and
hope that we will receive further comments over the next
few months."
The plan will now go out for three months
consultation.
It is estimated that 50,000 living persons in Scotland
have been infected with Hepatitis C - a prevalence of 1 per
cent which compares with around 0.5 per cent for the rest
of the UK.
Approximately one-third of infected persons reside in
Greater Glasgow, one third in Lothian, Grampian and
Tayside, and one third in the other Health Board
areas. Two-thirds are male; the great majority are aged
less than 50.
Around 5000 patient diagnoses have been seen by a
specialist in Hepatitis C infection and, of these, about
1000 have received antiviral therapy.