HEPATITIS B

Early day motion 2837, tabled 24 October 2006 by Neil Gerrard (Labour). Signed by 66 members.

That this House acknowledges Department of Health estimates that 180,000 people in the UK suffer from hepatitis B; notes that the hepatitis B virus is one hundred times more infectious than HIV and that hepatitis B can lead to liver cancer and death; welcomes the recent launch of the B Aware Campaign by the Association of Nurses in Substance Abuse, the British Liver Trust, the Children's Liver Disease Foundation, the Hepatitis B Foundation UK and Mainliners to highlight the severity of hepatitis B; notes with concern that the number of cases of hepatitis B is increasing; calls on the Government to make vaccination freely available as required; and supports the B Aware Campaign's calls for national strategic action by the Government to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this serious disease.

Signatures by party: Labour 39, Liberal Democrat 12, Conservative 7, DUP 4, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Plaid Cymru 1, Respect 1.