What Is Hepatitis?

What Are the Symptoms?

Is Hepatitis C Dangerous?

How Is Hepatitis C Spread?

How Can I Avoid Becoming Infected?

What Should I Do if I Already Have Hepatitis C?

What Should I Do to Stop the Spread of Hepatitis C?

Is There Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis C?

Is There a Test for Chronic Hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C Discrimination

More Information

Foreign Language Versions

Hepatitis is the general name for several different illnesses which all cause the same problem: an inflamed (swollen or painful) liver. The liver is a vital part of the body. If it does not function properly, it can cause serious illness or sometimes even death.

Drinking alcohol or taking drugs can cause hepatitis. It can also be caused by a viral infection. There are several types of viral hepatitis including A, B, C, D and E.

All these viruses cause similar problems but are spread in different ways. So the ways to prevent people catching the virus are different too.

This pamphlet is about hepatitis C only. Related Hepatitis pages on the Public Health site.

In many cases people infected with hepatitis C virus may not become ill. Others may experience a minor ‘flu-like’ illness which does not require treatment. When first infected some people may find their urine becomes dark and their eyes and their skin may turn yellow (jaundice). Hepatitis symptoms may disappear within a few weeks but this does not necessarily mean that the infection has also disappeared. If you have hepatitis symptoms you should consult your doctor. A blood test can determine if you have been infected.

When liver inflammation lasts more than six months the illness is called chronic hepatitis C.

The symptoms of chronic hepatitis C may be:

• Mild to severe lethargy (tiredness).
• Loss of appetite.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Soreness in the upper right part of the abdomen (under the ribs).
• Fever.
• Pain in the joints.

Over 70 per cent of people who have been infected may continue to carry the virus in their blood and become long term or chronic carriers. It is believed that at least 20 per cent of people who are chronic carriers will develop cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver. This process may take 20 years to develop. After some years, a small number of people with cirrhosis may develop liver cancer.

It is believed that carriers of hepatitis C remain infectious throughout their lives and may be capable of spreading the virus to others.

Blood
The hepatitis C virus is present in the blood of an infected person. If infected blood enters another person’s blood stream, that person may catch the virus.

The majority of people in Australia with hepatitis C have been infected by:

• Injecting drug users sharing needles and syringes and other injecting equipment.

Hepatitis C can also be spread by:

• Using instruments such as tattooing and body piercing equipment which have not been properly cleaned and sterilised.
• Sharing razor blades or toothbrushes.
• One person’s blood coming into contact with open cuts on another person.

People who receive blood transfusions these days do not run the risk of hepatitis C because blood donations are screened for the virus.

Sex
There’s a very small risk of catching hepatitis C during sex. However, the risk may be greater if there is bleeding, for example, during menstruation.

Mother to Baby
Mothers who are carriers may on rare occasions pass hepatitis C to their babies during pregnancy, or at the time of birth. There is little risk of a baby catching the virus from breast milk.

People at Risk
Injecting drug users are most at risk of catching the virus.

Other people who are at increased risk of being infected with hepatitis C:

• People undergoing skin penetration procedures, such as tattooing, body piercing and electrolysis, with unsterile equipment.
• People who received blood transfusions before February 1990.
• Health care workers exposed to blood.
• Kidney dialysis patients.

A small percentage of people infected with hepatitis C do not appear to belong to any of the above risk groups.

For people who inject drugs:

• Always wash your hands before and after injecting.
• Never share needles and syringes. Other equipment such as spoons, swabs, filters, tourniquets and water can also be contaminated. Always use new needles and syringes. These are available from some chemists and needle and syringe exchange outlets. For further information on where to obtain new needles and syringes or, if necessary, how to clean them, contact DIRECTLINE on (03) 9416 1818 or 1800 136 385.
• Do not share personal items such as toothbrushes, razors, nail files or nail scissors, as these can puncture the skin and become contaminated.
• If you are involved in body piercing, tattooing, electrolysis or acupuncture, always ensure that any instrument that pierces the skin has been sterilised since it was last used.
• Health care workers should follow standard infection control guidelines.
• Wear disposable gloves if you give someone first aid or clean up blood or body fluids.
• Use ‘safer sex’ practices. Use condoms every time you have anal, oral or vaginal sex. People in long-term stable relationships need to consider and discuss condom use with their doctor.

At present there is no vaccine available to prevent a person from being infected with hepatitis C.

• Consult your doctor who will monitor your condition and, if necessary, refer you to a specialist.
• Maintain a nutritious diet which is well balanced and low in fat.
• Avoid drinking alcohol.
• Rest when you feel unwell.
• Consider being immunised against other hepatitis viruses for which there are vaccines (ie hepatitis A and hepatitis B).

If you are infected with hepatitis C, you should take the following precautions:

• Consider discussing your condition with your health care provider when undergoing any medical or dental procedure, though there is no legal obligation to do so.
• Wipe up any blood spills carefully with household bleach and disposable paper towels, wearing disposable gloves.
• Completely cover any cut or wound with a wound dressing.
• Place bloodstained tissues, sanitary towels or other bloodstained dressings in a plastic bag before disposal.
• Practise safer sex.

You should not:

• Donate blood or body organs.
• Share injecting equipment.
• Share personal items such as toothbrushes or razors.

There is currently no cure but treatment with antiviral medicines can decrease inflammation in the liver although there are some major side effects. You should talk to your doctor about treatment options.

Yes. It may take two to three months (or sometimes longer) from the time of infection before a blood test can detect evidence of hepatitis C infection. This test can only show that you have been infected at some time in the past: it cannot determine if you have become a carrier.

Specialised laboratories can test if the virus is still present in a person’s blood or liver.

People with hepatitis C have the same rights as other people and should not be discriminated against.

State and Federal Law prohibits discrimination in the areas of employment, education, accommodation, the provision of goods, services and facilities, buying or selling property, membership of clubs and administration of Commonwealth and State programs. If you believe that you or someone you know has been discriminated against because of hepatitis C infection, you should contact the Equal Opportunity Commission.

To Find Out More About Hepatitis C Contact:

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