England on Track to Eliminate Hepatitis C by 2030

England is about to achieve what once seemed impossible: becoming one of the first countries to eliminate a deadly virus.

The country has already treated 80% of all known hepatitis C cases, a dangerous infection that quietly damages the liver for years before symptoms appear. Deaths from the virus have dropped 36% in just ten years, bringing England tantalizingly close to meeting the World Health Organization's 2030 elimination goals.

The treatment itself is surprisingly simple. Taking antiviral tablets for 8 to 12 weeks cures more than 95% of cases. Since 2015, over 100,000 people have been diagnosed and successfully treated.

Hepatitis C spreads through contact with infected blood, often through sharing needles or medical procedures with unscreened equipment. Many people carry the virus for decades without knowing it because symptoms rarely show up until serious liver damage occurs.

NHS England has gotten creative about finding people who don't know they're infected. They've introduced blood tests in emergency rooms, testing during GP registration, and free at-home testing kits that don't require speaking to a doctor. Anyone can order one online, no questions asked.

Paul Eatwell, 65, discovered he had hepatitis C during a routine blood test. The grandfather from Blackburn was shocked. "I didn't feel ill," he said. "I kept wondering how I could possibly have caught it." He likely contracted the virus decades earlier during surgery in South Africa, before proper screening existed.

The Ripple Effect: England's success offers a blueprint for other countries struggling with hepatitis C. Around 50,200 adults still live with the virus in England, but 84.6% have now been diagnosed. That's just shy of the 90% target, but rising fast.

Adults born in Ukraine, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Albania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Czechia or Slovakia face higher risk because they may have been infected through medical or dental procedures before 1991, when screening wasn't standard. Health officials are urging these communities to get tested.

Prof Frankie Swords, NHS national medical director, celebrated the milestone: "England is now leading the world in the mission to eliminate this disease and on course to beat the WHO's 2030 target, but we are determined to keep up the momentum and finish the job."

What once seemed like a lifelong, silent threat is becoming a treatable condition with a cure rate that would have been unthinkable just decades ago.