Archive · 12 Aug 2026
England on track to eliminate Hepatitis C virus, NHS says
Hepatitis C is a tiny germ that can hurt your liver, an important organ in your body.
Many people who have it do not feel sick, sometimes for years.
England has a big health service called the NHS.
Since 2015, the NHS has found and treated more than 100,000 people with Hepatitis C. The medicine is a tablet that people take for about two to three months.
It cures the illness in more than 95 out of every 100 people.
Because of this, far fewer people are dying from Hepatitis C now.
England wants to be one of the first countries in the world to make Hepatitis C disappear as a health problem.
The NHS is asking people who might have the germ to order a free home test kit.
If they have it, doctors can help them get better.
NHS England says England is on track to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate Hepatitis C as a public health threat after a decade-long treatment programme.
More than 100,000 people have been diagnosed and treated for Hepatitis C since pioneering antiviral drugs were rolled out in 2015.
The free NHS treatment is a course of antiviral tablets lasting 8 to 12 weeks, which cures more than 95 per cent of cases.
At-risk groups, including adults born in several Eastern European countries, people who have had tattoos abroad, and injectable drug users, are urged to order free confidential home-testing kits online.
Deaths from the virus have fallen by 36 per cent in the last 10 years, and England has exceeded the WHO benchmark of treating 80 per cent of known cases.
- Who
- NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), including Dr Sema Mandal and Professor Frankie Swords, with backing from UK Health Secretary Yvette Cooper.
- What
- England announced it is on track to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate Hepatitis C as a public health threat after treating over 100,000 people since 2015.
- When
- Announced on Tuesday, with the report dated London, Aug 11.
- Where
- England, with the announcement reported from London.
- Why
- Expanded testing and sustained access to modern curative antiviral treatment since 2015 have sharply reduced cases, putting England on course to beat the WHO's target of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
- Disease
- Hepatitis C, a virus that can cause serious and potentially life-threatening liver damage
- People treated since 2015
- Over 100,000
- Treatment
- Free NHS course of antiviral tablets lasting 8 to 12 weeks
- Cure rate
- More than 95 per cent of cases
- Death reduction over 10 years
- 36 per cent
- WHO benchmark
- England has exceeded treating 80 per cent of known cases
- WHO elimination target
- Eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030
- Estimated liver transplant reduction
- 80 per cent over the next decade due to effective treatment
