DIRTY NEEDLES CAUSE INCREASE IN HEPATITIS

The number of people in Scotland infected with the blood virus
hepatitis C has doubled in the past four years, Department of Health
figures show.

Most of the sufferers of the liver disease, which is much more
infectious than HIV, contracted the condition in the early Eighties
through sharing infected drug needles.

David Goldberg, deputy director of the Scottish Centre for Infection
and Environmental Health, said about 10,000 Scots were known to be
infected with hepatitis C.

But he added: "We also estimate that there are between 20,000 and
30,000 people throughout Scotland who have yet to be diagnosed."

Because many people with the virus show few symptoms for the first two
decades after infection, it is only now that the full number of people
affected is coming to light. The increase has led to a sharp rise in
the number of people waiting for liver transplants.

Professor Peter Hayes, a hepatologist at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary,
said it would be a big problem. "We're entering the window, after 20
to 30 years, when hepatitis C sufferers become really ill and require
liver transplants."

Professor Hayes added: "In America, hepatitis C is the most common
indication for liver transplants and we're probably five or 10 years
behind them in terms of how long we've had the infection."