Hepatitis C infections in people who inject drugs fall
Chronic hepatitis C infections have fallen in people who inject drugs in the last 6 years.
The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency show that chronic hepatitis C infections have fallen in people who inject drugs in the last 6 years. 7.8% of people in a survey of people who inject drugs had the infection in 2023, compared to 26% in 2017.
Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the liver. If left untreated, it can sometimes cause serious and potentially life-threatening damage to the liver over many years. It is usually spread by blood-to-blood contact.
The decline in people living with the virus is primarily due to the scale up of very safe and effective treatments for the infection that are curative. The number of people who inject drugs who have ever had the infection (current or in the past) has remained relatively stable over the last decade.
As hepatitis C can be passed on through contaminated blood, people who inject drugs now or in the past are particularly at risk if they have shared or re-used needles and syringes. In 2023, direct needle and syringe sharing rose to 25%, up from 17% in 2014. Direct sharing remained consistently higher among female participants and notably increased in the aged 25 to 34 years group.
Hepatitis C testing is free. GPs, sexual health clinics, genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics or drug treatment services also offer testing for hepatitis C. You can also do a finger-prick test at home to find out if you have hepatitis C.
People can also take the Hepatitis C Trust quiz to find out if they may be at risk of hepatitis C.
Dr Monica Desai, Hepatitis Lead at the UK Health Security Agency, said:
The scale up of effective treatments for hepatitis C has been a gamechanger for progress towards hepatitis C elimination. But we cannot solely treat our way out of this public health challenge. It’s critical that those most at risk of hepatitis – including those who inject drugs – continue to be tested so they can get access to life-saving treatments and stop the virus being passed on and have access to safe injecting equipment.
The latest data also show that while the number of people who inject drugs living with hepatitis B infection in 2023 was very small (0.44%), uptake of the hepatitis B vaccine is declining. Only 62% of participants in 2023 reported receipt of at least one dose, compared to 73% in 2014. Falling uptake is particularly prominent amongst people aged 25 years and under and in people who started injecting drugs in the past 3 years. High levels of vaccine uptake are important for prevention and control of the infection.
In people who inject drugs, HIV prevalence remains low and stable, as it has done over the past decade, while HIV testing uptake continues to be high. Testing uptake has increased by 39% in the past 10 years.