Hepatitis

Hepatitis A is highly infectious and can be acquired in a variety of ways including poor personal and food hygiene, contaminated water or food and also through sexual activity. Many people who have hepatitis A will not experience any symptoms; those that do occur are likely to be mild and flu-like.

The best way to prevent hepatitis A is to practice good hygiene when preparing and eating food, always wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet and use condoms and dams during sexual activity.
Vaccines for hepatitis A are available if you are travelling to high incidence areas; the first dose should be administered 4-6 weeks before you travel.

If you get hepatitis A there is no specific treatment for it, the virus will eventually run its course and most people will make a full recovery.

Hepatitis B is a very infectious blood born virus; it is thought to be 100 times more infectious than HIV. Hepatitis B causes inflammation of the liver which can be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term).

Many people infected with hepatitis B do not have any symptoms and are therefore unaware that they are carrying the virus, and have the potential to pass it on to others. Hepatitis B can be transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, semen, vaginal fluids, breast milk and vomit and faeces if blood is present.

It is possible to vaccinate against hepatitis B, other ways to reduce the risk of transmission include using condoms for all types of sexual activity, ensuring that equipment used for tattoos and piercings are properly sterilised, never sharing injecting equipment.
For many people who have hepatitis B no treatment is necessary, however if there are concerns over liver functioning test results then treatment is usually recommended.

Hepatitis C is an extremely infectious virus which causes damage to the liver; it can be transmitted through body fluids such as semen, vaginal fluids, breast milk  and menstrual blood. Ways to reduce the risk of transmission include using condoms for all types of sexual activity, ensuring that equipment used for tattoos and piercings are properly sterilised, never sharing injecting equipment.

For most people with hepatitis C the initial infection goes unnoticed; only one third of people with the virus will have symptoms. For many people, the first time they realise they have hepatitis C is 10 – 15 years after the initial infection, when liver damage becomes apparent. The type and rate of liver damage progression varies from person to person, however 80% of people develop a long-term, sometimes life-long infection with problems including cirrhosis (severe scarring of the liver), liver cancer and the possible need for a liver transplant. There is no vaccination against hepatitis C.