Estimates of hepatitis B prevalence at primary care trust level are not available. The Department estimates that about 0.3 per cent. of the United Kingdom population is chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (about 180,000 people).
The Medical Research Council funds a portfolio of basic and underpinning research relating to chronic hepatitis B, which may lead to further understanding of the condition. Research specifically related to the anticipated incidence of chronic hepatitis B over the next decade in this country is not currently being funded.
The Health Protection Agency gathers information on a sample proportion of persons in the United Kingdom infected with and affected by chronic viral hepatitis as part of its remit for monitoring infectious disease in this country. This information includes analysis of hepatitis B virus both for definition of the type and for evidence of drug resistance.
The information requested for hepatitis A, and acute and chronic hepatitis B and C is shown in the following table.
Hepatitis A notifications Hepatitis B notifications Hepatitis C notifications 2000 1,271 1,035 1,042 2001 1,138 1,028 1,061 2002 1,381 1,073 1,340 2003 1,194 1,151 1,574 2004 784 1,215 1,851 2005 513 1,325 2,120 2006 433 1,165 2,194 2007 333 1,265 2,040 Notes: 1. Viral hepatitis is a notifiable disease. A registered medical practitioner attending a patient is under a statutory requirement to notify cases or suspected cases of viral hepatitis to the proper officer. 2. Data on hepatitis D are not collected. Hepatitis D is a defective virus that replicates only in the presence of the hepatitis B virus. 3. Notifications of hepatitis E are not recorded separately and are included under the category of other viral hepatitis. 4. Hepatitis F is a hypothetical hepatitis virus. Several hepatitis F virus candidates emerged in the 1990s. Further investigations failed to confirm the existence of the virus, and it was delisted as a cause of infectious hepatitis. 5. Data are not routinely collected on hepatitis G. Extensive worldwide investigation has failed to identify any association between the hepatitis G virus and hepatitis, and its clinical significance is unknown. 6. There is currently no virus designated as hepatitis H. Source: Health Protection Agency