Hepatitis C in the UK: 2014 report

The most recent national estimates suggest that around 214,000 individuals are chronically infected with hepatitis C (HCV) in the UK; most of this infection (~90%) is genotype 1 and genotype 3. Injecting drug use continues to be the most important risk factor for HCV infection in the UK. Data from the Unlinked Anonymous Monitoring (UAM) survey of people who inject drugs (PWID) suggest that levels of infection in this group remain high in 2013 (50% in England, 32% in Northern Ireland and 47% in Wales); in 2013 to 2014, 57% of PWID surveyed in Scotland tested positive for antibodies to hepatitis C. In England and Wales, among the participants in the UAM Survey of PWID sub-survey of people who inject image and performance enhancing drugs, 3.6% tested positive for antibodies to HCV during 2012 to 2013.