| 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). |