NHS England set to be first in world to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030

NHS England has reported that it is on track to eliminate hepatitis C five years before the World Health Organization’s (WHO) overall 2030 target, following a ‘pioneering’ antiviral drugs deal worth almost £1bn.

The five-year contract has led to a 35% fall in deaths from hepatitis C, including liver disease and cancer, and represents over a three-fold increase to the 10% target set by WHO.

It was also reported that the NHS’ hepatitis C elimination programme has helped find and cure 70,000 people of the disease and significantly reduced the number of people seeking liver transplants.

Within six years, this number is down by two-thirds and the number of annual registrations for a liver transplant in patients with hepatitis C related diseases reduced from over 140 per year to less than 50 per year in 2020, a figure expected to be even lower in 2022.

The largest benefit has been seen by those in the most deprived communities, NHS England reported, with 80% of treatments provided to the most deprived half of the population.

Since the rollout of the NHS plan to treat children for hepatitis C last year, more than 100 children received infection-curing antivirals, with 90% of treatments given to the 40% most deprived children.

This puts the programme at the forefront of the NHS’ ambitions to reduce health inequalities, which calls for specific action to address the poorer health outcomes of children in the 20% most deprived areas.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England national medical director, said: “The NHS is leading the world in the drive to eliminate hepatitis C and save thousands of lives, while tackling a significant health inequality in the process.

“Thanks to targeted screening and because the NHS has a proven track record of striking medicine agreements that give patients access to the latest drugs, we are on track to beat global targets and become the first country to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030 – which will be a landmark achievement.”

A screening programme was launched by NHS England in September this year to enable up to 80,000 people unknowingly living with hepatitis C to get a life-saving diagnosis and treatment sooner by searching health records key hepatitis C risk factors, such as historic blood transfusions or those with HIV.