Britain warned over hepatitis C

Britain is unprepared for a liver disease crisis that could kill more than 60,000 in the next 10 years, it was claimed today.

The British Liver Trust said an estimated 400,000 people in the UK were infected with hepatitis C - and 90 per cent of those had no idea they were carrying the virus.

Of these, 60,000 were likely to develop a life-threatening disease.

In a report today the trust called for urgent government action to identify infected people and to mount an education campaign.

It said hepatitis C could be spread through shared syringes, infected piercing instruments, blood transfusions and unprotected sex. The infection can take 20 or 30 years to progress to cirrhosis, liver failure or cancer, in which a person may show few symptoms.