A pioneering community testing programme could save the lives of hundreds of Bradfordians who do not know they are living with hepatitis, health experts believe.

Liver specialists from Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have joined forces with national charity The Hepatitis C Trust to be the first in the country to train a member of the public to offer testing for hepatitis B and hepatitis C in the community.

The scheme is about to be rolled out across the city – starting off in its mosques.

The project will target Bradford’s Eastern European and South Asian communities where the virus is most prevalent – the test is just a simple finger-prick blood test.

Hepatitis experts believe there could be thousands living in the district who have no idea they have the condition that could eventually lead to cancer.

Consultant hepatologist Sulleman Moreea said: “We currently have only 1,200 patients on our books at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, yet we know that as many as two to three thousand more people in Bradford have Hep B or C.

“These people don’t know because symptoms often don’t appear for years. If we can catch the condition early we can give treatment now, before the situation deteriorates to the point that the patient is presenting with cirrhosis or liver cancer.”

The testing will be carried out by Shabana Begum, who was herself successfully treated for hepatitis that she contracted through medical treatment in Pakistan in the 1970s.

She has now been trained by staff at BRI and plans to start working soon, on behalf of the hospital and the Hep C Trust, in Bradford’s mosques.

If it is a success, she will then take the testing into community centres, events and meetings.

  • Read the full story in Wednesday’s T&A