Drug users are vulnerable

The drug - peginterferon alfa - lasts for longer than current treatments.

This makes it particularly suitable for drug users, who often find it difficult to take medication regularly.

Hepatitis C affects up to 500,000 people in the UK. Drug users often contract it from using dirty needles.

I'm delighted to see that NICE has given the go-ahead for the most-effective treatments to be used in hepatitis C. Professor Graham Foster

Previous guidance on Hepatitis C from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) did not include specific recommendations on treating drug users because of problems with compliance.

The virus is often described as a "silent" epidemic because those infected often feel perfectly healthy and may remain symptom-free for many years.

It is estimated 90% of those who are infected are completely unaware they are living with the virus.

However, up to 30% will develop liver disease or cirrhosis, and a small percentage will develop cancer.

Liver failure because of infection with the virus is the leading cause of liver transplantation in the world

Specific recommendations

The NICE guidance makes a raft of recommendations about how peginterferon alfa should be used, often in combination with two existing therapies, interferon alfa and ribavirin.

The actual treatment depends to a degree on what drugs the patient has already been taking, and whether they have had any success.

NICE also stresses that the length of treatment will depend on the particular version of the virus which has caused the infection.

Professor Graham Foster, a consultant hepatologist at Barts and the Royal London NHS Trust, said: "I'm delighted to see that NICE has given the go-ahead for the most-effective treatments to be used in hepatitis C.

"This is the first positive step which will allow patients in the UK to receive the same treatment choice which has been available to patients living with hepatitis C in other parts of the world for many years.

"I hope that the government provides the infrastructure necessary to implement these recommendations."

Charles Gore, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said: "The Hepatitis C Trust is delighted that NICE has approved these drugs for use in the NHS as they represent an important advance in the treatment of hepatitis C.

"Patients who now have the right to receive the best drugs available to treat this condition."

Dr Carola Sander, of the Royal College of General Practitioners, welcomed the fact that the guidance stresses that drug users should be offered the same treatment as other patients infected with the Hepatitis C virus.

"With up to 400,000 people in the UK estimated to be infected with hepatitis C an awareness campaign is urgently needed to inform the public and to encourage testing of at risk patients, without discrimination, after appropriate discussion and assessment."

Last week the NHS agreed to pay patients infected with Hep C from NHS blood transfusions up to �45,000 in compensation.