Healthcare company Sobi has launched a new website to raise awareness of Viking disease, also known as Dupuytren’s disease.

The little-known but surprisingly common hand condition is thought to have been brought to the UK by Viking ancestors.  The condition makes the fingers bend inwards towards the palm so that they cannot be straightened, making everyday tasks challenging.

According to Sobi, the disease affects over a million people in the UK alone. It says that photographs of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan show that they had Viking disease, and the actor Bill Nighy and BBC cricketing commentator Jonathan Agnew are both known to suffer with the condition.

“There is a clear need for increased awareness of this condition which affects so many people in the UK, particularly in Scotland and the north of England," says Anna Schurer, chair of the British Dupuytren’s Society.

"We hope that the website will go some way to identify more patients at an earlier stage of the disease so they can find the information they need and seek medical help as appropriate.” 

Check out the website here.