Hep C alert as cases hit a ten-year high

Hepatitis C numbers have hit a record high in the Lothians, sparking a warning from health bosses.

There were 274 new diagnoses of the disease last year - a ten-year-high - and it is estimated as many as 7000 people in the Lothians could be living with it.

Now there are warnings that the infection, often associated with injecting drug users, is also being passed on by snorting cocaine and other "lifestyle" choices.

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Experts said that because the disease was blood-borne there were many ways to catch it.

Health Protection Scotland revealed that hepatitis C numbers were at record levels in the Lothians and Scotland as a whole.

It is estimated that as well as the 3500 people infected in the Lothians, there is a similar number undiagnosed.

Health chiefs insist the growing number of positive cases is a good thing, indicating an improvement in the detection of those who may have had it for years.

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