THOUSANDS of people are living with hepatitis C, new figures reveal.

New figures show that 5,653 people were estimated to have the blood-borne virus in the year from 2014 to 2015.

In Blackburn with Darwen, 1,207 people were estimated to have the condition.

But many people are going untreated for the disease, with 313 residents in Blackburn with Darwen remaining diagnosed and untreated. The figure for Lancashire is 1,468.

Data shows that Lancashire has the most people living with the condition in the North West,

The report from Public Health England (PHE) found that many people may be unaware they have hepatitis because they have no symptoms or only mild symptoms, but they could be at risk of liver damage as well as passing on the infection to others.

Experts said those most at risk of contracting hepatitis C infection in the North West are people who inject drugs or have injected drugs in the past - especially if they have shared injecting equipment.

They are at increased risk even if they injected only once or twice in the past.

Lancashire County Council bosses encouraged people in at-risk groups to ‘get tested as soon as possible.’

Clare Platt, head of health equity, welfare and partnerships at Lancashire County Council, said: “The NHS offers new, more effective treatments and the sooner people are treated, the less likely they are to pass the illness to others.

“Our nationally-recognized substance misuse services have been tackling Hepatitis C by running targeted work with people who are at risk and working to discourage young people from using drugs.

“They run a needle exchange scheme to ensure people don’t share syringes and offer effective drug treatment and recovery services.”

Dominic Harrison, director of public health at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “Working in partnership with East Lancashire Hospitals Trust (who lead on hepatitis services locally), CGL and Public Health England we have improved opportunities for screening and increased take-up of new and highly effective treatments which have started to improve the overall picture.

“There is also a strong campaign to improve the rates of hepatitis vaccinations and screening amongst homeless people, injecting drug users and those accessing specialist alcohol treatment.

“One Voice also do some fantastic work in local BME communities and collectively, by working together, we are determined to reach out, engage and educate on this topic.”

Dr Ioannis Gkikas, consultant gastroenterologist for East Lancashire Hospitals Trust said: “The largest single reason for not being diagnosed is that people are unaware because they have no symptoms or only mild symptoms, but they could be at risk of liver damage as well as passing on the infection to others.”

Evdokia Dardamissis from PHE North West said: “We encourage anyone who believes that they may be at risk to ask their GP or drug services to be tested for the virus. This is an infection which can be cured in most people.”