Who is at risk?
Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus which can affect
people from all walks of life:
- people who received blood transfusions/ blood
products before 1991
- mother-to-baby transmission although the risk is low
- people born in countries with higher levels of hep
C eg South East Asia, China, sub-Saharan Africa and
the Amazon Basin Eastern and Southern Europe, the Middle East: or
those who travelled and received dental or medical treatment in
these areas
- people who have injected drugs, including image
and performance enhancing drugs (steroids) and
shared 'works' even once - needles,
spoons etc. For instance, if you experimented in the 60s/70s, and
have never been offered/taken a test, you could be at high risk of
liver disease as you may have had the infection for many years
without knowing it.
- people who have snorted drugs and shared notes or straws
- unprotected sexual intercourse. Those at a higher risk
are men who have sex with men, depending on
sexual practices and the use of 'party-drugs'
- people who have had tattoos or
piercings in unlicensed parlours
- people with unexplained abnormal liver function
tests
