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<p>Most recent estimates suggest that around 160,000 people in England are living
with hepatitis C (HCV) infection. Precise figures of the number who remain undiagnosed
are not available, however, an estimate of the proportion of people who inject drugs
who are diagnosed can be obtained from the Unlinked Anonymous monitoring survey. In
this survey, only around one half of people injecting psychoactive drugs sampled are
aware of their HCV antibody positive status (53% in 2015), and this figure has remained
relatively stable at this level (averaging 52%) over the past decade.</p><p> </p><p>The
precise number of people diagnosed since reporting began is not available. However,
over nearly two decades there has been a steady increase in the number of laboratory
confirmed reports of HCV (ever-infected) in England, with a more than fivefold increase
between 1996 and 2015. In 2015, 11,605 laboratory reports of individuals testing positive
for antibodies to HCV were reported.</p><p> </p><p>No specific assessment has been
undertaken of the effectiveness of peer support in increasing the number of people
engaged in HCV care pathways.</p><p> </p><p>NHS England has a specification for 22
HCV Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) to develop local partnerships with a range
of stakeholders in order to maximise appropriate uptake and completion of HCV treatment
and to cure more people of infection.</p><p> </p><p>One requirement of the ODN is
to develop links to third sector services to support adherence, peer support and self-management
programmes.</p>
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