People in Cambridgeshire urged to test in fight against Hepatitis C
It's hoped the virus will be eradicated in England by 2030
Last updated 24th Jul 2024
People across Cambridgeshire are being urged to get tested for hepatitis C in the hope of eliminating the virus.
Mobile testing clinics are being held in the East of England as part of an NHS campaign to stamp out the blood-borne virus in our region by next year, and in England by the global goal of 2030.
The clinics are being delivered by the Eastern Region Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Network (HCV ODN), which provides testing, treatment and support to people with HCV across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Bedfordshire.
The group will also run a bus shelter advertising campaign across East Anglia to highlight key messages and support available.
A team led by Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge including former patients, nurse specialists radiographers and expert technicians are also aiming to find, treat and cure patients.
"You can carry the virus and not know you've got it"
Rachael Bates is a clinical nurse specialist running some of the tests.
"It lets people know who perhaps didn't think they had a risk factor know they should come forward and have a test," she said.
"There's something that may have happened 20, 30 years ago and they were exposed to some blood at that point and wouldn't think they had a risk factor; you can carry the virus and not even know you've got it.
"The virus goes inside liver cells to make more of itself, and when it does that over years, it can damage the liver really badly.
"Quite often we find the first time we go (set up a clinic), people are perhaps skirting around the (mobile clinic) van and avoiding eye contact but realise it's worth having a test."
Between April 2023 and March 2024, the Hepatitis C team led from Addenbrooke's tested 4,152 people and 568 were treated.
Since April this year, 1,428 people have been tested in our region and 102 have begun treatment.
Visitors can get the results of a finger prick test or mouth swab in just 20 minutes and is free of charge.
What is Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus spread through contact with infected blood from sharing needles or syringes, blood transfusions before 1996 or the reuse of un-sterilised medical equipment.
Risk factors for having the virus include: old/homemade tattoos/piercings; current/past drug use (sniffed and injected); anal sex; certain countries of birth; blood transfusions and solid organ transplants before 1996, and healthcare abroad.
The virus damages liver cells, which over several years can cause serious liver scarring, liver failure and liver cancer but due to a lack of clear symptoms, people can be infected with hepatitis C and go undiagnosed for many years.
Treatment involves 8-12 weeks of tablets with few or no side effects and a 96 per cent cure rate.
"It only takes a few minutes"
Dr Will Gelson, Eastern Region HCV ODN clinical lead, said: “Our message to anyone who has the slightest concern that they may be infected is to drop into the van and get tested.
"It only takes a few minutes and if there is a problem there are rapid, highly effective, treatments available.”