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England is on track to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate hepatitis C after meeting its target of treating 80% of known cases, according to figures.
Deaths linked to the virus have fallen by 36% over the past decade, bringing England closer to its target of reducing hepatitis C-related mortality by 65% by 2030.
More than 100,000 people have been diagnosed and treated for hepatitis C in England since 2015, according to NHS England.
Antiviral tablets taken for eight to 12 weeks can cure more than 95% of cases.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that can cause serious liver damage if left untreated.
Many people have no symptoms until the disease has progressed.
NHS England said initiatives including blood testing in emergency departments, testing during GP registration and free home-testing kits have helped identify people who were previously undiagnosed.
An estimated 50,200 adults were living with hepatitis C in England in 2024. About 84.6% of people with the virus had been diagnosed, just below the 90% target.
The Hepatitis C Trust said England was “on the cusp” of a major public health achievement.
NHS national medical director Prof Frankie Swords said England was on course to beat the World Health Organization’s 2030 target but needed to maintain efforts to find and treat people with the virus.
Adults born in Ukraine, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Albania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Czechia and Slovakia have been particularly encouraged to take a test because some may have been infected through medical or dental procedures before 1991.
Free and confidential NHS home self-testing kits are available without the need to contact a GP.
England has yet to reach its target of reducing hepatitis C-related deaths by 65% from 2015 levels, although the current decline suggests the goal could be reached before 2030.
Hepatitis C is mainly spread through contact with infected blood, including through sharing needles. Donated blood is screened for the virus.
The progress comes against the background of the UK’s infected blood scandal, in which more than 30,000 people were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products and transfusions between 1970 and 1991. About 3,000 people have since died.
