[Pic: Julia Koblitz / Creative Commons]
ENGLAND is on the cusp of becoming one of the first countries in the world to eliminate hepatitis C, health officials have revealed.
NHS England said the nation is one of a handful of countries globally to have already exceeded the World Health Organisation benchmark of treating 80 per cent of all known cases.
It said that deaths from the virus, which is spread through contact with infected blood, have fallen by 36 per cent in the last 10 years.
Initiatives including A&E blood tests, GP registration testing and free at-home tests have helped to identify previously undiagnosed people.
Global health leaders have set out plans to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030.
Many of those with the condition have no symptoms, but if it goes untreated it can cause serious, and potentially life-threatening, liver damage.
An eight-to-12-week course of anti-viral drugs cures more than 95 per cent of cases.
With more people dying each year and many spending their final days in institutions, researchers argue that wider access to palliative care could offer a more humane and cost-effective alternative, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
