Published Date: 2000-07-26 23:50:00
Subject: PRO> Hepatitis C virus, risk assessment
Archive Number: 20000726.1243
HEPATITIS C VIRUS, RISK ASSESSMENT
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See Also
1998----
Hepatitis C & transfusions - USA 19980709223142
Hepatitis C, acquisition by sexual contact? 19980426085644
Hepatitis C, acquisition by sexual contact? (02) 19980501072105
Hepatitis C, WHO calls for incr. awareness (03) 19980509202629
Hepatitis C, WHO calls for increased awareness 19980504220820
Hepatitis C, WHO calls for increased awareness (02) 19980508191618
Hepatitis C - UK 19980609212531
Hepatitis C - UK (02) 19980614093130
[1
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 13:55:11 GMT
From: M. Cosgriff <mcosgriff@hotmail.com>
Source: PHLS News bulletin, 21 July 2000 [edited
Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in London
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Media coverage this week has highlighted recent research from St Mary's
Hospital in London which looked at the prevalence of hepatitis C virus
amongst women giving birth at that hospital. The study found a prevalence of
0.8% within their population.Compared with national estimates, this figure
is quite high, but this is not surprising as the study was conducted in a
hospital in central London where the prevalence of hepatitis C virus is
known to be higher than elsewhere in the country. It would be misleading to
use this prevalence as an estimate of the burden of the infection across the
country as a whole.The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) has recently
conducted a study into the prevalence of hepatitis C virus which looked at a
range of antenatal clinics in Greater London, and in the Yorkshire area.
Estimates from this study suggest that the prevalence of hepatitis C virus
is 0.4% in Greater London as a whole and 0.2% outside London.
Many people with chronic hepatitis C virus infection suffer no symptoms and
no long-term complications, and consequently require no treatment. Estimates
suggest that about 20% of people who get infected with hepatitis C virus
will develop severe liver disease, and only a small proportion of these will
develop liver cancer. The PHLS is currently carrying out further research to
provide more detailed information on the progression of the disease and its
long term complications.
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently reviewing
the evidence for the efficacy of drug treatments for hepatitis C virus
infection. One consideration in this is likely to be which groups will
actually benefit from treatment, as clearly those people who do not develop
symptoms or complications may not require treatment. In addition, the
treatments that are available can have serious side effects, so should
clearly not be used except where of proven benefit. NICE is expected to
report on its review of the evidence in due course.
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[2
Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2000 11:17:08 GMT
From: M. Cosgriff <mcosgriff@hotmail.com>
Source: Reuters, 26 Jul 2000 [edited
U.S. study sheds light on hepatitis C risks
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CHICAGO: A new study has shed more light on the risk of death from Hepatitis
C virus infection, a blood-borne disease afflicting 170 million people
worldwide. Doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore said a
check of 1,667 people in the United States who developed the disease after
injection drug use found that the majority did not develop usually fatal end
stage liver disease."This and other studies are beginning to show we can
differentiate a person's risk of developing end stage liver disease on
account of a number of factors, an important one being how old they were
when infected," said David Thomas, the study's principal author.When people
are infected at younger ages, he said in an interview, his and another
recent study indicate there is a very low rate of end stage liver disease.
By contrast older people who were infected typically through blood
transfusions and who are heavy drinkers are more at risk of the liver
complication. About two-thirds of Hepatitis C cases in the United States are
related to drug abuse.In about 15 percent of all cases, the infection
disappears. In the rest of the cases symptoms may show up in 10 to 30 years,
with the worst symptom being end stage liver disease. Of the 1,667 people in
the U.S. study, end stage liver disease was detected in 40 persons. By the
end of the study 35 of those had died."The 35 patients ... comprised less
than 10 percent of the 409 deaths among study subjects, 40 percent of which
were due to complications of HIV infection, 19 percent due to drug overdose,
12 percent due to bacterial infections and the remaining due to
miscellaneous causes," the study said. It found that compared with those
younger than 30 years, the relative incidence of end stage liver disease was
4.46 times higher in people older than 38 at the time the study started.
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