Thursaday 14th February 2008
For immediate use

Local MP Congratulates Primary Care Trust on Battle Against Hepatitus C
Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust one of the top trusts fighting Hepatitus C

Celia Barlow MP today joined Gordon Roddick in congratulating Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust on scoring 8 out of 10 in an audit of hepatitis C services amongst Primary Care Trusts in England.  The impressive results taking hepatitis C places the Trust amongst one of the top in the country, exactly a year after Gordon Roddick's late wife and The Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick, revealed she had the potentially fatal disease. 

Celia Barlow MP said, "I am delighted that Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust are at the top of the league table of hepatitis C services. 

"There are up to 500,000 people living with hepatitis C in the UK, but only 1 in 8 of these people has been diagnosed.  I want Brighton and Hove PCT to lead the way in tackling this deadly disease."
Hepatitis C is often known as the 'silent killer' as people can live with it undiagnosed and without symptoms for many years.  There are estimated to be 230,000-466,000 people with hepatitis C in England, but only 63,000 have been diagnosed. 

ENDS

 Note to editors:
1) The Body Shop founder and green campaigner Dame Anita Roddick chose February 14th 2007 to tell the world that she had hepatitis C.  She became infected through a blood transfusion in 1971 when giving birth to her youngest daughter.  She died in September 2007, aged 64.
2) PCTs scored between 0/10 to 10/10 in the Audit.  The full All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group audit report, including regional comparisons, will be available from The Hepatitis C Trust website on 14 February 2008:  www.hepctrust.org.uk
 3) About hepatitis C:
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that principally affects the liver.
Liver damage occurs slowly over 20-30 years and can lead to liver scarring (fibrosis), cirrhosis and ultimately to liver cancer or liver failure and death.
It can be symptom-less which has led hepatitis C to be termed 'The Silent Epidemic'. There are estimated to be between 231,000 (HPA) to 466,000 (University of Southampton research) infected with hepatitis C in England.
As a relatively newly identified disease (1989), there are still many aspects of it that are little or poorly understood.
Hepatitis C is already a major cause of liver transplant in the UK.  Yearly deaths from hepatitis C have trebled in the last 10 years.
There is no vaccine but treatment is available which can cure the disease in around half of patients
 More details about hepatitis C can be found at www.hepctrust.org.uk  The Hepatitis C Trust's helpline: 0845 223 4424