Hepatitis C: Silent but deadly

Published on Friday 14 May 2010 17:18

A million people in the UK die each year from hepatitis C, but many don't even know they are sufferers. Now the stars turn the spotlight on this stealthy killer

PETRA Wright from Bo'ness, a middle-aged, married marketing officer for a financial services company, is the last person you might expect to have hepatitis C. Her GP certainly thought so, but when Wright asked for a test it came back positive. "My GP said if she had been asked to target people in the practice to test, there's no way she would've picked me," she says.

Wright is one of up to 466,000 people living with the infection in the UK, only around 100,000 of whom have been diagnosed. Worldwide there are 500 million people (one in 12) with hepatitis B or C, more than ten times the number infected with HIV/Aids.

An infectious blood-borne virus that mainly attacks the liver, hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and death. Between them, hepatitis B and C kill a million people a year. Hepatitis is spread through contact with infected blood, commonly through injecting drugs, sharing needles (Pamela Anderson contracted the hepatitis C virus from husband Tommy Lee after the pair shared tattoo needles), blood transfusions (until 1991, when screening began), needlestick accidents in health workers and any other blood-to-blood contact, such as may occur during sex.

Sufferers can live with the virus without symptoms for many years, and it can often take 20 to 40 years to seriously impact on a person's liver, so it is often referred to as the silent killer. by avoiding alcohol and having a healthy diet and taking exercise, it is possible to live a normal life after being infected. The disease is also treatable, with ribavirin and interferon, which are 50 to 80 per cent effective, depending on the type.

Symptoms include tiredness, fatigue and brain-fogging – which can be easily confused with ageing – thyroid issues, anaemia, ME, nausea, insomnia, aches and pains, especially back pain, feeling bilious or generally unwell. "My own experience goes back to 1991, when a gynae problem suggested my immune system was compromised in some way. I went to the clinic for an anonymous test that came back positive for hep C antibodies. It goes back to my 20s and stupid intravenous drug use where I shared needles, but I had moved on and put that way to the back of my mind."

Working for a life insurance company, Wright wasn't keen to have the diagnosis on her medical records so didn't go to her GP until 2000 to get treatment. Wright now works for the Edinburgh office of the Hepatitis C Trust, which is funded by the Scottish Government. Her job is to help other sufferers regain their self-respect by providing information and support.

"There's a big stigma to having hepatitis C," says Annette Wilson, of Waverley Care, which offers support to people living with HIV and hepatitis C and to their partners, families and carers. "It's very similar to HIV, with everyone thinking you have been doing something unclean, but it could be that you had a baby and needed some blood," she says.

Wilson herself had a blood transfusion when her son was born in 1990, and was later called for a test to check for blood-borne infections. Wilson was one of the lucky ones, but she knows she could easily have become one of the thousands of Scots living with the virus. That's why she's so keen for people to take advantage of the Get Tested! bus tour, which sees medical workers and people living with hepatitis C travelling around the country offering advice

The tour aims to raise awareness about the virus and the need for testing and coincides with World Hepatitis Day (Wednesday), which will see Sadie Frost host a London event to launch an album entitled This Day, highlighting the lack of awareness of the virus. High-profile supporters include music mogul Alan McGee and Green Wing actress Michelle Gomez, who says, "I have some very close friends who have hepatitis C, so it is a cause close to my heart. We need to take action in Scotland to raise awareness and get people tested."

Charles Gore, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, says, "We are taking the message 'get tested' to the streets of Scotland because there are 25,000 people living with hepatitis C who have not yet been diagnosed. Too many people are needlessly dying because they do not realise they have the virus."

The Get Tested! bus tour is from tomorrow to Friday, at Inverness, Perth, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Alloa. Waverley Care (0131-558 1425, www.waverleycare.org) is running self-management courses for sufferers from next month. Hepatitis C Trust (0845 223 4424, www.hepctrust.org.uk).

&#149This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday on 16 May 2010