Today on Hepatitis Day, the British Liver Trust warns that stigma remains one of the biggest obstacles preventing people with hepatitis B from accessing diagnosis and treatment in the UK.
Hepatitis B is a blood-borne virus that can cause serious liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer if left undetected.
It is estimated that 268,000 people are living with hepatitis B in the UK and more than half are unaware, largely due to a chronic lack of awareness and misunderstanding that discourages people from getting tested and seeking care.
In a recent pilot survey by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Hepatitis Alliance, nearly half of the respondents (46%) said that they consider it difficult to tell others about living with hepatitis B. A separate survey by the British Liver Trust revealed that a third of people with hepatitis B felt judged by healthcare professionals, highlighting the widespread stigma that surrounds the condition.
Roza who was diagnosed with hepatitis B as a child and has lived with it for 30 years, says: “There’s a lot of stigma around hepatitis B. Many people don’t know what it is or think it’s only to do with sexual contact or it’s the same as HIV. It’s upsetting and frustrating to have to keep explaining it.”
Vanessa Hebditch, Director of Policy at the British Liver Trust said: “The challenge of stigma and undiagnosed hepatitis B poses a serious threat to the UK’s ability to meet the World Health Organization’s ambitious 2030 goal to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat. Achieving this target requires identifying and treating those living with hepatitis B, yet stigma-driven barriers are slowing progress.”
In their report, Hepatitis B – Breaking the Silence the British Liver Trust identified these barriers, while presenting straightforward solutions that must be implemented if we are to achieve elimination of hepatitis B by 2030 in the UK.
These solutions include a stronger national focus on hepatitis B through coordinated action and policy change. The charity also wants to see opt-out testing for blood-borne viruses (BBV), including hepatitis B, across all emergency departments in the UK because, as recent research has shown, there are far more cases of undiagnosed hepatitis B than previously thought. An analysis of the initiative between April 2022 and March 2024 found that almost 2,000 people were newly diagnosed with hepatitis B through opt-out testing.
The British Liver Trust urges the public, healthcare professionals and policymakers to unite in the fight against hepatitis B by raising awareness, tackling stigma, improving testing and diagnosis rates and expanding access to treatment and care.