§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer from the Minister for Public Health of 8 June and the written answer of 19 April 2004,Official Report, column 192W, on infection rates for hepatitis C, if he will clarify how many individuals in England are estimated to be suffering from hepatitis C who are undiagnosed. [178197]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe number of cumulative hepatitis C laboratory reports (38,000) is lower than the estimate for the overall population prevalence. This suggests that the majority of hepatitis C infections have not been diagnosed. The number of individuals who have been infected with hepatitis C is 250,000, but the figure for those who have gone on to develop chronic hepatitis C infection in England is 200,000, as in some cases, the infection clears spontaneously.