5m infected by hepatitis C - study

AS MANY as five million Europeans have been infected by the hepatitis C virus in a massive epidemic, a study just completed by the French National Public Health Network for the European Commission has concluded.

The study, which has not yet been published, was summarised yesterday in the French newspaper Liberation. It says between 2.5 and five million Europeans have contracted the virus through blood transfusions or drug use. In 70 per cent of these cases, victims will develop chronic infections requiring treatment. Epidemics on such a scale have been rare in Europe over the past 50 years, Liberation said.

The epidemic is more serious in southern Europe than in the north. "If overall infection in Europe is characterised by a relatively high prevalence - around 0.9 per cent (of the population) - three geographic zones can be distinguished," the report says.

Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark have the lowest infection rate of less than 0.5 per cent. Ireland is classified in central Europe, along with Austria, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Luxembourg and Portugal.

In these countries, the infection rate is between 0.5 and 1 per cent of the population. It is highest in France, Italy, Spain and Greece, countries where more than 1 per cent of the population is infected.

"You find here the classic divisions in terms of public health, between northern and southern Europe," Mr Jean-Claude Desenclos, the co-ordinator of the European report explained. The geographical differences carry over into the way individual countries have responded to the epidemic and improved health safety measures, the report says.

For example, some countries screen sperm donors for artificial insemination for hepatitis C; others do not. In some countries, pregnant women are screened. The report does not recommend systematic screening. "Because this epidemic has principally hit drug users and recipients of transfusions, the cost/efficiency ratio of systematic screening would be low," it says.

The only drug widely used to treat hepatitis C is interferon. Its price varies throughout the EU, but it is expensive everywhere. The report estimates the cost of interferon treatment for all Europeans suffering from hepatitis C at 3 000 to 6,000 million ecus (£2.24 billion to £4.48 billion).