By Gurdeep Hundal
More than 50,000 Scots are estimated to be living with Hepatitis C, but many don’t even know they are sufferers, researchers warn.
In Scotland, eight in ten people are unaware they have the blood borne virus, as it can take years, even decades for symptoms to appear.
In most cases, the blood-borne virus does not cause any symptoms. But when it appears, they tend to be vague.
Possible symptoms of hepatitis C include: fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea, flu-like symptoms, anxiety and difficulty concentrating.
The most common symptom is fatigue, which may be mild but can be extreme. Many people initially diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome are later found to have hepatitis C.
By contrast, patients who later become ill and seek help, show significant damage to their liver. As hepatitis C is a long-term debilitating condition that attacks the liver, leading to cirrhosis, liver failure and death.
Petra Wright, the Scottish Hepatitis C Trust Officer is hoping to change this, by raising more awareness of the virus in Inverness, Perth, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling.
At a recent event in the Scottish Parliament, Mrs Wright had pleaded for financial support, to tackle the virus throughout Scotland.
As a direct result, the party has led to the implementation of an Action Plan, designed to increase diagnosis and treatment for sufferers, to improve care and support.
However, Mrs Wright believes there’s still a lot of stigma attached to this illness, making it harder for people to come forward.
‘Currently, hepatitis C is associated with drug addicts because many fail to realise it can affect anyone, and it can be caught in many ways, ’ she said.
Debbie, a charity worker at C level, was diagnosed with hepatitis C after her dentist was arrested and jailed for not sterilising his tools.
‘In my mind, I thought I would be fine. But when the results came back my hep b was negative, but unfortunately my hep c result came back positive.’
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