About Hepatitis | How do I keep it Myself

Factors responsible for Hepatitis C
There are a variety of ways in which the virus causing hepatitis C can be spread from one person to another. The virus exists primarily in the liver and in various components of blood, and not in most other parts of the body. It is usually transmitted by direct blood-to-blood contact between two people. The most common means of transmission of hepatitis C is through injection drug use. The drug use may have been many years ago and maybe happened only one time. It is important to remember that not all individuals who acquired hepatitis C in this manner were heavy or regular users of drugs, nor do they need to share needles for injection. Simply sharing a container with a liquid drug preparation which several people use together to fill syringes is sufficient blood-to-blood contact to spread hepatitis C.

Most individuals who acquired hepatitis C in this way do not recall any illness at the time, nor do they recall sharing needles with anyone who had hepatitis C. It should be obvious from this that the only way to avoid being exposed to the virus in this way is not to use injection drugs. But for those who do use drugs, an effective way to limit the spread of hepatitis C is to be careful to not share needles nor containers. Anyone who used any injectable drugs, even once in the past, has a high probability of having hepatitis C, and may not be aware of their infection. Anyone who has ever used injection drugs should visit their physician to discuss whether or not they should be tested. Another way of being exposed to the virus is through blood transfusion, although the risk of getting hepatitis C infection in this way is now extremely low given the precautions that are taken in screening blood donors.

Blood used for transfusions prior to 1990 was not tested for hepatitis C as there was no reliable test available. Thus one of the categories of patients with hepatitis C infection is people who required blood transfusions prior to 1990. According to Victor Feinman's study in Toronto, the risk of getting hepatitis C in this group is less than 2% per unit of blood transfused. However, infection may last for years, so these individuals, too, are advised to see their physicians if they are concerned to discuss the advisability of testing for hepatitis C. A variety of other ways of acquiring hepatitis C have been described. These include tattooing, body piercing and acupuncture. And it is theoretically possible to spread the virus from one person to another by sharing razors or toothbrushes because a very small amount of blood from an infected person on a razor or toothbrush could enter another user's blood through very small nicks or sores.

The virus is known to be present in the menstrual blood of infected women, and could theoretically infect their sexual partners during intercourse. The virus is, however, not present in most other body secretions, including semen, urine and saliva unless they contain blood particles, and is not present in the air infected people breathe out. It is not known for certain whether or not the virus can be passed from a nursing mother to her baby through breast milk. The risk of transmission of this virus by sexual means, either heterosexual or homosexual, is very low, and there is debate about whether or not it is ever transmitted by intercourse in the absence of some sores, other disease, or exposure to menstrual blood. In spite of the low risk of sexual transmission, individuals in long-term monogamous relationships must decide whether or not they wish to use condoms. They should, however, avoid unprotected intercourse during menstrual periods if the woman is HCV positive.

Of course, people with multiple sexual partners should always practise safe sex, not only to decrease the small risk of hepatitis C transmission, but to decrease the risk of acquiring other infections. Many individuals who have recently been found to carry hepatitis C cannot recall any risk factors, and do not know how they acquired the infection. Some of these individuals undoubtedly have used injection drugs, received injections as a child with non-disposable needles, had blood transfusions that they were unaware of during surgery, or were exposed to another person's blood in some way that they do not recall. However, as of 1995, experts admit that they have probably not identified all of the means of transmission of this virus.

The proportion of patients who acquired hepatitis C by one means as opposed to another will vary depending on the population that is being tested. In most parts of India, the most common risk factor that has been identified is use of injections and needles often 20-30 years before the patient is found to have the infection. For physicians seeing patients years after they acquired this virus, the way they got it years before is quite irrelevant to the decisions that have to be made about treatment at this time provided the patient is now able to follow medical advise and abstain from further street drug use