Knowledge of chronic hepatitis C among East London primary care physicians following the Department of Health's educational campaign

Background:  In August 2002, the Department of Health (DH) wrote to all general practitioners (GPs) in England about hepatitis C, enclosing an educational booklet. Aim:  To assess hepatitis C knowledge among East London GPs in June 2003. Design:  Postal questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. Methods:  A questionnaire was mailed to 250 (South-East) and 600 (North-East) London GPs, with reminders where needed. We randomly selected 10 GPs for face-to-face standardized interviews. Results:  Overall questionnaire response was 56% (South-East) and 57% (North-East), with little difference between the groups. Some 86% knew that hepatitis C was common in people who inject drugs, and that its prevalence was higher than HIV. However, 14% believed that antibodies to the virus indicated that the patient no longer had active disease. Some 49% thought that materno-fetal transmission was common, and 50% believed that blood transfusion in the 1990s carried a high risk of infection. Only 23% knew that 20% of patients develop cirrhosis after 20 years, and only 58% were aware that therapy was effective in > 50% of cases. Responses among the interviewed GPs were similar. Discussion:  Knowledge of hepatitis C among GPs remains poor. Every GP surveyed wished to be better informed. We hope the DH will produce and audit further educational campaigns.