PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
CHRONIC HEPATITIS B (3 July 2005)

That this House notes that 180,000 people suffer from the potentially fatal liver disease chronic hepatitis B in the UK, with 7,700 new cases each year; further notes with concern that of these only 1,500 patients per year are receiving treatment; and calls upon the Government to act upon calls from the Foundation for Liver Research and the British Medical Association to establish a vaccination programme for babies, to improve investment in research into chronic hepatitis B, to raise the priority of the disease in the NHS, to set up managed clinical networks for viral hepatitis, to evaluate the needs of people living with the disease, to determine the true economic burden and to embark on a public information campaign to improve awareness of this serious, potentially life-threatening disease.

Sponsored by:
Mr Neil Gerrard (Labour)