England set to eliminate hepatitis C - BBC

England is on course to become one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C, a bloodborne virus that attacks the liver, having already met its target of treating 80% of known cases, according to NHS England figures.
Deaths from the virus have dropped by 36% over the past decade, though a separate goal of a 65% reduction in hepatitis C-related mortality from 2015 levels has not yet been reached but may be achieved before the 2030 target.
Antiviral tablets taken over 8 to 12 weeks cure more than 95% of cases, and since 2015 over 100,000 people in England have been diagnosed and treated.
Testing initiatives including A&E blood tests, GP registration checks and free at-home kits have helped find undiagnosed cases; around 50,200 adults in England were living with hepatitis C in 2024, with an estimated 84.6% diagnosed, just short of the 90% target.
Adults born in countries such as Ukraine, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Albania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Czechia or Slovakia are urged to test, as some may have been infected through medical or dental procedures before 1991.
Prof Frankie Swords, NHS national medical director, said England is leading the world in eliminating the disease, while the Hepatitis C Trust described the country as being "on the cusp" of a major public health achievement; patient Paul Eatwell, 65, from Blackburn, was diagnosed after a routine blood test despite feeling no symptoms.