England set to eliminate hepatitis C – five years ahead of target

In the past five years, 70,000 people have been cured of Hepatitis C in England

(Image credit: Cavallini James/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

published 5 January 2023

England is set to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate hepatitis C, thanks to an NHS drive to identify people with the virus, and treat them using antiviral drugs. In the past five years, 70,000 people have been cured of the disease, which spreads through blood-to-blood contact and can cause liver cancer and liver failure. The NHS said it was on track to eliminate the virus in the community by 2025, five years ahead of a World Health Organisation target.

Man runs marathon every day for a year

A 53-year-old has raised more than £1m for charity by running a marathon every day for a year. Gary McKee, from Cleator Moor in Cumbria, was cheered by supporters as he completed his 365th marathon on 31 December. Over the course of 2022, he’d covered 9,500 miles in rain, snow and sunshine, and gone through 22 pairs of trainers. Often, he ran his 26.2 miles in the morning, before going to work at the Sellafield nuclear site. The money will go to Macmillan Cancer Support, and Hospice at Home West Cumbria. “It was fantastic seeing everybody there,” he told the BBC after his final run. “It’s something I’ll always remember.”

Elizabethan ship hull discovered in quarry bed

The hull of an Elizabethan ship has been found on the lake bed of a quarry in Kent. Workers were dredging for aggregate last year when they stumbled on the ancient timbers and called in experts. Archaeologist Andrea Hamel, who has worked on the hull, said it was in a remarkably good condition. “You can still see tool marks where the builders used adzes and saws.” The quarry is 300 metres inland, but the site would have been on a shingle headland when the ship – which has been dated to the 1580s – was wrecked or abandoned.