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UK Parliament adopts written declaration on Hepatitis C
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Public health - 29-03-2007 - 12:37
Following the announcement, the House formally adopted written declaration on Hepatitis C with some 470 MEPs signing the declaration. The declaration calls on the Commission and Council to recognise Hepatitis C as an urgent public health issue and identify priority actions in programmes of future Council presidencies.
It also calls for the adoption of a Council recommendation on Hepatitis C screening, ensuring early diagnosis and wider access to treatment and care.
The written declaration calls on the Commission and Council to respond to the recommendations of its June 2006 report on protecting European healthcare workers from blood-borne infections due to needlestick injuries and facilitate further research on treatment for Hepatitis C patients co-infected with HIV and/or Hepatitis B under the 7th Research Framework Programme.
12 millions persons in Europe are infected with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV is an urgent issue, being a disease which attacks the liver and leads to chronic hepatitis C causing cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer, thus increasing the need for transplantation. HCV is often seen as a 'silent killer' and 'sniper' disease, HCV is often not detected so that many patients remain undiagnosed while the diagnosed patients frequently suffer from stigmatisation.
John BOWIS (EPP-ED, UK) said: "According to the British Hepatitis C Trust, only 1 in 10 people with Hepatitis C have been diagnosed. Extended and reinforced screening efforts are therefore essential to guarantee early diagnosis and treatment, and to prevent a further spreading of the virus."
Stephen HUGHES (PES, UK) said: "In particular for health workers, the risk of infection for Hepatitis C through needlestick injuries is enormous. I am therefore pleased that the European Parliament once more underlined the need for urgent EU action to prevent such fatal injuries."
Frederique RIES (ALDE, BE) said: "Hepatitis C is also the first cause of liver transplant in the EU, as there is still no vaccine, screening and organ donations remain the most efficient medical practices to stop the disease. It is therefore crucial to reinforce European cooperation via the 7th Research Framework Programme and the European Registry on Organs, Cells and Tissues (EUROCET)."
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