British Health Department Launches Hepatitis C Testing Campaign
The British Department of Health on Wednesday announced a new campaign to encourage people to be tested for hepatitis C, APM/Reuters Health reports. A health department spokesperson said that the agency likely will publish an action plan soon, according to APM/Reuters Health. The campaign will encourage testing among high-risk groups, including injection drug users. If a person tests positive for hepatitis C, the patient would then be offered treatment and counseled about the risks of alcohol consumption, which can contribute further to liver damage caused by the disease. The plan includes a hepatitis C awareness campaign targeting the public and health care professionals. The initiative will "be centrally funded and sustained over a number of years," the spokesperson said. Officials believe that there are currently 500,000 people living with hepatitis C in the United Kingdom, but most of them do not know they are infected, according to APM/Reuters Health (APM/Reuters Health, 1/28).
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