§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been conducted by her Department on Hepatitis C in the last 10 years; and at what cost. [30466]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department of Health is funding two pieces of work at the public health laboratory service. One is a feasibility study to develop a programme of surveys to determine and monitor the prevalence of hepatitis C infection in England and Wales and the approximate cost is £78,000. The other is a project to investigate the economic detection of antibody to hepatitis C virus in pooled serum samples and the approximate cost is £48,000.
The main agency through which the Government support bio-medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council which receives a grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The MRC has the following programme of research on hepatitis C:
Hepatitis C; protein crystallography; HSV and bunyavirus suppressor mutations.809WVirological and immunological determinants of liver disease in haemophiliacs infected with hepatitis C virus.Hepatitis C infection and blood exposure incidents: preliminary seroprevalence studies.Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in intravenous drug users in West Suffolk.Detection and quantitation of hepatitis C virus in vivo.Cloning, sequence analysis and expression of divergent genotypes of hepatitis C virus.Hepatitis C virus 5 untranslated region as a novel antiviral target.Cell and molecular virology of hepatitis C virus/Dengue type 4 chimaeric particles.Hepatitis C virus infection: the molecular basis of virus/host interaction.Hepatitis C virus in saliva and salivary glands.In consultation with the MRC, my Department will be considering the need for further research on hepatitis C.