By Pat Hagan

BBC News Online speaks to a man living with the liver virus hepatitis C.

When Neil Hudson was seriously ill with pneumonia and septicaemia, transfusions of donated blood helped save his life.

Neil Hudson contracted hepatitis C through infected blood

But years later, he discovered the blood had been infected with the potentially fatal liver virus hepatitis C.

The experience has left Neil, a 33-year-old graphic designer at a television company, with a philosophical outlook on life.

"The very blood that once saved my life could end up killing me," he said.

"But I was read the last rites in hospital and was in intensive care for three months.

"So the way I see it, I've had at least an extra 13 years of life. Once you've already looked death in the face, what else can threaten you?"

Neil, from Tooting in south London, is one of an estimated 400,000 people in Britain who are infected with hepatitis C. Many do not know they are carrying the virus.

It has become known as "silent" epidemic because those infected often feel perfectly healthy and may not experience any symptoms for up to 20 years.

But eventually the virus causes inflammation of the liver that can lead to cirrhosis and even cancer.

Without treatment, the only hope for survival is usually a liver transplant.

Routine checks

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence - the government watchdog that vets new drugs and treatments - last week sanctioned the use of the drug Pegasys, or pegylated interferon, for NHS use.

Suddenly I had to deal with my own mortality Neil Hudson

Pegasys has been shown to improve the chances of clearing the virus from the bloodstream.

Neil only discovered he had been given infected blood in 1999 during routine blood pressure checks.

"I had been on pills for my blood pressure for a few years and my doctor wanted to do something about it," he said.

"I had some blood tests done and then got a phone call from a doctor in the pathology laboratory saying they had found some hepatitis C antibodies.

"I'd never even heard of hepatitis C.

"There was no real indication of how serious it was but I knew you didn't get calls from hospital telling you to come in unless it was bad."

Follow-up tests confirmed Neil was carrying the virus.

"I was horrified. But there was nobody to help me. I went out and bought a book on hepatitis C, attended a support group and got myself some counselling.

"Suddenly I had to deal with my own mortality.

"I started to have vivid dreams of dark, black clouds that beckoned me into them - like the shadow of death.

"They were scaring the living daylights out of me so I thought some counselling would help and it did."

Change in treatment

Neil waited nine months for an NHS appointment with a liver specialist.

Further waits for follow-up appointments and a liver biopsy meant it was about 18 months before he was able to start treatment.

"The wait is extraordinary because of the lack of power and control that you have," he said.

"Every day, you are waiting around with blood being pumped round your body that is destroying your liver and you cannot do anything about it."

In January 2001, he began a treatment that combined two drugs - interferon and ribavirin.

But he was infected with the genotype 1 strain of hepatitis C, the most difficult to treat.

After a year of treatment, tests showed his blood was clear of the virus, but a routine check three months later revealed it had returned.

Last summer, Neil switched to the new drug Pegasys.

Initial results show the virus has been suppressed but doctors will only decide on future treatment after he has been on the drug for a year.

Neil is campaigning for greater awareness of hepatitis C and runs a support group for fellow sufferers at St George's Hospital in London.