title: Hepatitis C: What lies ahead and can we afford it?
abstract: Hepatitis C is a chronic disease with a slow and variable progression over 20-50 years and it is an important public health problem for the 21st century. This paper describes the information required to estimate what lies ahead in terms of morbidity, mortality and the implications for the health service in Scotland and summarises work undertaken in other countries. There will be an increasing number of people with severe liver disease in the next 10-20 years and we need to invest now in primary prevention and effective treatment strategies to reduce the burden of disease in the future.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Unit, NHS Grampian, Aberdeen AB15 6RE, UK. helen.howie@ghb.grampian.scot.nhs.uk
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Howie
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents