Call for concerted European action on hepatitis C

Following the announcement of Body Shop Founder Dame Anita Roddick that she is carrying the hepatitis C virus, UK Member of the European Parliament John Bowis has called for concerted action on the disease in Europe.

"In light of the 12 million people in Europe infected with the virus, European and national policy-makers must take urgent action to combat this silent pandemic. Inaction will lead to more people being infected and sufferers developing very serious liver disease," he said.

Commenting on the public announcement of Dame Anita - who had been diagnosed with the disease 34 years after being infected (via a blood transfusion) and is suffering from liver cirrhosis - Mr Bowis said that her case "underlines the tragic fact that hepatitis C still often goes unnoticed until serious symptoms such as cirrhosis and cancer appear."