HEPATITIS
SCOTLAND LEADING THE WAY FOR WORLD HEPATITIS DAY
By Murray Cheek, Waverley Care S
ometimes it seems like every day is an awareness day for one health condition or another. However, of all these, only eight have been offi cially mandated by the WHO; one being World Hepatitis Day on 28 July.
In Scotland, key organisations involved in support and treatment of people living with hepatitis C come together annually to highlight World Hepatitis Day. Led by Hepatitis Scotland and Waverley Care, the group raises awareness of hepatitis C and challenges the barriers preventing people from getting tested and accessing treatment. Part of that role is to provide healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, with accurate information to help their patients.
Discovered in 1989, hepatitis C is a major cause of liver disease, affecting
OUR MESSAGE IS SIMPLE: THE ONLY WAY FOR A PATIENT TO KNOW IF THEY HAVE HEPATITIS C IS TO GET TESTED. IF THEY ARE DIAGNOSED, NEW TREATMENTS ARE AVAILABLE WHICH ARE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, HAVE MINIMAL SIDE EFFECTS AND CAN CLEAR THE VIRUS IN AS LITTLE AS TWELVE WEEKS.
12 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
between 130 and 150 million people worldwide. If left untreated, the virus can eventually cause serious liver damage, including liver cancer and cirrhosis. In the USA, hepatitis C now has by far the highest mortality rate of any infectious disease. Chronic hepatitis C infection is identifi ed as a signifi cant public health concern here in Scotland, where it’s estimated that as many as 36,700 people are currently living with the virus.
Transmitted through blood-to-blood contact, in Scotland hepatitis C has generally most affected people who inject, or have a history of injecting drug use, but there are other risk factors that can help spread the virus. This includes having had a blood transfusion in the UK prior to 1991, as the recent Penrose Inquiry has highlighted.
Treatments for hepatitis C have historically had a reputation for being lengthy and diffi cult, accompanied by signifi cant side effects and with mixed results in clearing the virus. However, ground-breaking new treatments, now accepted for use within the NHS in Scotland, have been shown to be highly effective and have minimal side effects. These treatments now allow patients to clear the virus in 90 per cent of cases and in as little as twelve weeks.
A signifi cant barrier to getting people into testing and treatment is challenging the existing negative perceptions towards older medications. These perceptions go some way towards explaining why three quarters of people living with the virus in Scotland are not currently, or have never been, in specialist care, and also explain the reluctance towards testing of some people who are undiagnosed.
In order for new treatments to have an impact, we need people to know if they are infected.
It’s estimated that over 40 per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis C in Scotland are unaware they have the infection. Identifying these undiagnosed cases is complicated by the fact that the condition shows few, if any, direct symptoms. It can be many years between contracting the virus and a person becoming visibly ill, during which time signifi cant liver damage can occur.
Over the past three years, our campaign group has focused efforts on encouraging people who may have been at risk of hepatitis C in the past to get tested. The ‘Ever Injected, Get Tested’ campaign has received strong media coverage and led to corresponding increases in testing across the country.
The Big Red C featured prominently in Waverley Care’s Ever Injected Get Tested campaign.
Given the high proportion of people who are not engaging in specialist care, the group’s focus in 2016 is now expanding to include messages about how vital it is to re-engage with services.
Members of both these groups are likely to be over 50 and will have been living with hepatitis C for a considerable time. As a result, they may already be experiencing moderate or severe liver disease and would be prime candidates for new treatments. The prevalence of hepatitis C cases linked to injecting drug use places pharmacies, which provide almost three quarters of Scotland’s injecting equipment services, in an ideal position to help us reach people most at risk and signpost them to support.
Our message is simple: The only way for a patient to know if they have hepatitis C is to get tested. If they are diagnosed, new treatments are available which are highly effective, have minimal side effects and can clear the virus in as little as twelve weeks.
This year’s campaign will go live on World Hepatitis Day (28th
July). If you
would like to fi nd out more, contact Hepatitis Scotland on 0141 225 0419, email
enquiries@hepatitisscotland.org.uk or visit
www.hepcscot.org
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