LONDON (AP) — Screening people for hepatitis at pharmacies could identify thousands more people with the virus in Britain, according to a new study.

In a trial at 19 drugstores across the UK, officials offered hepatitis tests to people thought to be at risk after they answered some preliminary questions. Of the 234 tests, officials found 15 percent, or 35 people had hepatitis C and two percent, or four people, had hepatitis B. Normally, only about four percent of tests done in doctors' offices in Britain pick up hepatitis C and four percent pick up hepatitis B.

The study results were released yesterday by The Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Hepatitis C Trust. The two agencies called for Britain to introduce pharmacy screening to catch the disease early, a measure they say could save thousands of lives.

Officials estimate more than 500,000 people in the UK have hepatitis B or C but most don't know it. Many people have non-specific symptoms like depression, fatigue, skin problems, insomnia and digestive disorders for years without getting tested.

Hepatitis C is a virus spread via tainted blood. It can be transmitted by sharing needles for injecting drugs, shared razors or toothbrushes and even contact sports. People who get tattoos, piercings, or acupuncture may also catch the virus if dirty equipment is used.

If left untreated, hepatitis C can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer and death. There is no vaccine, but early treatment can get rid of the virus and ongoing infection can be managed with drugs.

Hepatitis B is spread through blood or other bodily fluids during sex. A vaccine is available and treatment can manage the virus.

"We desperately need new approaches to (hepatitis) testing that will find the undiagnosed patients," said Charles Gore, chief executive of The Hepatitis C Trust, in a statement. "If the pharmacy testing pilot is taken as a model and rolled out...we can stop people dying needlessly."

Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, suffered from hepatitis C when she was infected during a blood transfusion after giving birth to her second daughter. Other celebrities who have caught the virus include Pamela Anderson, Ken Watanabe, Keith Richards, Steven Tyler, Naomi Judd, and Natalie Cole.