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Medicine United Kingdom

England Set To Eliminate Hepatitis C (bbc.com) 68

Posted by BeauHD from the good-riddance dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: England is on track to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate hepatitis C, a dangerous virus that attacks the liver, figures show. The target of treating 80% of all known cases has already been met, and deaths from the virus have fallen by 36% in the last decade, just short of what is needed by 2030. Taking antiviral tablets for 8 to 12 weeks can cure more than 95% of cases. Initiatives including A&E blood tests, GP registration testing and free at-home tests have helped to find people who were previously undiagnosed, says NHS England.

NHS England says that since 2015, more than 100,000 people have been diagnosed and treated for hepatitis C, meaning the country is already meeting that target. Another goal -- a 65% reduction in hepatitis C-related mortality compared with 2015 levels -- has yet to be met, but might be before the 2030 target date. Around 50,200 adults are living with hepatitis C, figures for England in 2024 suggest. Estimates indicate 84.6% of those living with hepatitis C have been diagnosed -- just short of the 90% target. The Hepatitis C Trust says England is "on the cusp" of one of the most significant public health achievements in our country's history.

England Set To Eliminate Hepatitis C More | Reply

England Set To Eliminate Hepatitis C

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  • America: Challenge Accepted (Score:4, Funny)

    by angryman77 ( 6900384 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @12:12PM (#66283862)
    If there's one thing we Americans hate it's the idea that anyone, anywhere might be better off than we are.

    we'll be sending as many infected tourists over as we can shortly.

    • Re:America: Challenge Accepted (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @12:15PM (#66283868)

      Make Measles Great Again! https://www.knoxnews.com/story... [knoxnews.com]

      • What is is that RFK jr is now telling families to get the measles vaccine and days later Trump targets the MMR vaccine.
        Admittedly, the order is to break MMR into M, M and R in separate shots. If thatâ(TM)s what it takes to get skeptical parents to vaccinate their children In okay with that. But letâ(TM)s get those kids vaccinated ASAP.

        • Re: America: Challenge Accepted (Score:5, Informative)

          by shilly ( 142940 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @03:25PM (#66284278)

          1. Separate shots haven’t been made at scale since 2009, so there’s no chance of doing this for the relevant populations
          2. It creates a significant window of months in which babies are unprotected for two of the diseases, so it’s materially more dangerous
          3. It means all these kids have more injections and discomfort
          4. It’s pandering to idiocy. It’s really simple to explain that kids are exposed to far more pathogens on the daily than they’ll get in the three shots, and that their immune systems can cope. We need to do that, not admit defeat by dumbasses

        • Re: America: Challenge Accepted (Score:5, Insightful)

          by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @04:01PM (#66284364)

          If thatâ(TM)s what it takes to get skeptical parents to vaccinate their children In okay with that. But letâ(TM)s get those kids vaccinated ASAP.

          The reason the MMR vaccine was combined is to reduce the amount of missed vaccine appointments. Splitting MMR is going to cause more kids from responsible parents to become unintentionally unvaccinated than it is going to save the offspring of a couple of fucking morons.

          • Notice how when it was about the covid vaccine it was all about choice, but now I suppose if parents want the convienence of MMR they won't get one.

            • Yes because we had a whole new group of stupid people to deal with in COVID. Countries with a lower population of morons didn't make COVID about choice either. You weren't vaxxed you didn't get to do many things.

              Parents shouldn't have a choice about MMR. There's no choice to make. The three are horrible diseases that can cause a painful and completely avoidable death. Having the option of 3 shots won't placate any anti-vaxxers since all three are in fact vaccines, and the normal people (you can read "normal

          • Do Republican voters keep track of what the administration does? I'm not trolling. I really wonder if there is support for every executive order, or does no one read the news?

            • Nobody can keep track of everything they do, which is the point of the zone-shit-flooding strategy.

            • The problem is people vote emotionally not rationally. (The quicker we get rid of this stupid myth of the rational actor, the better off we'll be) Trump is "owning the libs" and by that I mean "scientists" and "people who disagree with me" or whatever the fuck. Its so far beyond responsible governance at this point. In any country with a less robust economy and without miles deep instutions, they would be spiraling into developing world status, the way its being run right now. Eventually the bill will be du

            • Do Republican voters keep track of what the administration does? I'm not trolling. I really wonder if there is support for every executive order, or does no one read the news?

              Yes, they do. It goes something along the lines of:
              Administration: Announcement about ....
              Republican Voters: MUST BE GOOD!

      • We lost 200,000 jobs in 3 months (Score:5, Interesting)

        by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @03:16PM (#66284252)
        We are on a deep deep recession that AI spending is masking. So the Republican party has absolutely nothing to offer their voters.

        Because of that we get treated to a fishing expedition looking to find some excuse to arrest Anthony fauci and multiple anti-vax executive orders resulting in thousands of dead American children from measles and other preventable illnesses.

        What I find frustrating is the number of right-wing Trump voters who still lurk here and our anti-vax. This is a science and technology forum so you would think they would know better. Maybe some of them do and it's just like a costly signal thing which is a variation on virtue signaling that the right wing just loves.

        Basically you do something boneheaded and dangerous that hurts you and that's okay because it shows the group that you are trying to belong to that you can be trusted because you are willing to expend resources and take risks for the sake of group cohesion.

        It is extraordinarily irrational but we've been doing it for millennia. Even the left wing has a tendency to do stuff like that but we do it with performative rationality. Meaning we are too rational to the point that we ignore real danger because we want to make sure everybody sees we aren't panicking. Stiff upper lip and all that rot...
        • The right at this point in time doesn't do virtue signalling, they signal that they're against virtue signalling. I think they're going for freedom signalling, but ultimate freedom is also ultimate anarchy...and the responses I see often come off like a whiny kid crying about how no one should be able to tell them what to do because freedom.

          It would be nice if we could get all the adults to agree that living in a functional society has benefits and obligations, and that a society can't function without a
          • There's a famous quote, there must be a in group which the law protects but does not bind and a out group which the law binds but does not protect.

            That's the right wing in a nutshell. There's a hierarchy and how much protection you get depends on how high up you are on the totem pole. The right wing is all about hierarchy.

            Incidentally this makes them extremely radical. They will do anything to preserve the hierarchy no matter how extreme. This is why they masquerade as conservatives borrowing The br

    • It's not just us. As long as it's anywhere it can reach everywhere due to modern travel. It's the same as when the gates foundation announces it's eradicating something but they don't go to certain countries so it's just a lie

    • I could see a case for modding your comment "Offtopic". But "Troll"?

      It must have been a MAGAt moderating - they have a propensity for fighting against truth, justice, and the Amer- Oh, wait...

  • Completely infeffective (Score:4, Insightful)

    by smooth wombat ( 796938 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @12:25PM (#66283898) Journal
    Taking antiviral tablets for 8 to 12 weeks can cure more than 95% of cases.

    As any anti-vaxxer like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr will tell you, if it's not 100% effective then it's useless. This drop in Hepatitis C cases can in no way be attributed to an antiviral medication. In reality, it's just people's natural immune system becoming more effective.

    Note: if you have to ask, yes it is.

  • It's about time (Score:5, Funny)

    by TechyImmigrant ( 175943 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @12:41PM (#66283930) Homepage Journal

    The are really pushing hepatitis C++ these days.
     

  • There is vaccine for Hepatitis C yet... So broad state level intervention is required to get a handle on its spread.

    This is one of the things the NHS excels at due to how it's organized. It has its issues, sure, but it also makes great progress in areas that are simply unattainable in most types of healthcare systems.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by shilly ( 142940 )

      Worth remembering that many European countries have tax-funded state provision of healthcare, often with national components. It’s not all social insurance like France, Germany and the Netherlands.

      Spain, Portugal, Italy, DK, NO, SE, FIall Beveridgean. The UK has the highest degree of centralised organisation, though.

  • Let's see if other countries can push these problems down faster than the US can bring old ones out of retirement. I'm betting American ingenuity prevails.

  • Purleees, Hepatitis C is sooo 2010s.

    Gonorrhea is where it's at, uncs.

  • Social medicine vs private healthcare (Score:4, Informative)

    by SysEngineer ( 4726931 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @01:52PM (#66284040)
    For private healthcare, people die when they can't pay. There is a point where it becomes not profitable to keep a person alive, and they die.
    Social healthcare worries long term absolute cost. It is cheaper to solve it early than for transplants and long term illness.
    It is the transplants and long term illness that private healthcare loves, "as long as it is getting paid". regular profit stream.
    • At some point, heroic measures to keep people alive for a few more weeks aren't worth it, and those shouldn't be covered by publicy funded healthcare. If you love being in pain and want to dodge the grim reaper as long as humanly possible, you should save up enough money to pay for it yourself, or at least to pay for private insurance to cover it.

      • Worth it in what way? How are you judging the worth of a person? Also the GP wasn't talking about a couple of weeks, they aren't the problem. There's a massive array of diseases that require ongoing regular treatment or a person will die, but with treatment could live for decades more.

        I'm curious where you specifically draw the line. What is the dollar value you think we should just let people die for? Also do you apply that only for terminal illnesses or should the dollar value also apply to diagnosis? May

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by HiThere ( 15173 )

          Since he's talking about an individual decision, I assume he's talking about that same individual deciding whether it's worth paying for his extended life (in the future).

          Well, unless you're arguing that everyone should invest an infinite amount of money in prolonging everyone's life no matter what their condition is.

        • You act as though the current medical system doesn't already make those decisions. Insurance coverage is limited. You will never receive an organ transplant if you are tool old, in too poor of health or have pretty much ever used drugs.

          • No I don't act that way. If you want to talk about the current medical system than let me heap a whole world of criticism on that broken piece of shit too.

            There's one area though where you made an incorrect comparison. The insurance system is fucked and needs to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. But the organ transplant example has a different cause: Supply and demand based prioritisation.

            The only reason you will "never" have that organ transplant is because there are people who are likely are be

  • I'm sure good ol' RFK Jr. will stage an epic comeback for Hep C here in the USA! MAHA!

  • Go get checked for measles antibodies (Score:4, Insightful)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Tuesday August 11, 2026 @03:18PM (#66284260)
    I bring it up because the thread is vaccine adjacent and about maybe two or three years ago I got checked and found that I was completely without antibodies. This is most likely because my mother who was anti-vax found a doctor that would forge the paperwork indicating I have my vaccinations. I am definitely old enough that I couldn't have gone to school without that paperwork.

    If you have the slightest doubt you should get checked now. Measles will fuck you up especially at our ages

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )

      A couple of things to worry about, if you want to.
      1) How reliable is that test for measles antibodies?
      2) How quickly do those antibodies decay after a vaccination?

      I strongly suspect that the answers to both of those questions is variable. Also, at least some diseases with do a reset on your immune system beta cells. (Actually IIRC measles is one of the diseases that will do that.)

      • 1. Extremely reliable. Figure high 90s.

        2. Generally you do not need a measles shot again for your entire life but it is possible for the effects to decrease depending on the individual. So it's still a good idea to get tested.

        Given the number of idiots skipping their measles shots it's probably not a bad idea to get tested for antibodies. And if you're at a high risk area where herd immunity is breaking down due to right-wing politics it's probably best to just get the shot and booster and call it a

  • OK, I've seen Trainspotting, so I understand the difference.
    Much harder to eradicate Hep-C from those fitlhy Scotts.

    • The UK NHS is actually four separate NHSs each run by their respective devolved governments. NHS England is run by and voted on by English MPs in Westminster, NHS Scotland is run by the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, the Welsh NHS is run by the Welsh Senned at Cardiff, the Northern Ireland NHS is run by the NI Assembly at Stormont. With the population of England being ten times that of second place Scotland and accounting for over 85% of the population of the UK NHS England is the largest by far so it's s

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