Knowing about Hep C status

[ScaredGuy0737]

Hi guys, Can Hep C be transmitted through sexual activity? and if it does when will a blood test show it?

[hrsepwrguy]

Hey Dee, I hope you are well, Lynn has given you about the most informative info out there, I found a BS study about how people with hep c were more likely to have tats but I didn't find it very convincing and thought it was BS.

Research from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases showed that out of 3,871 people studied (half with hepatitis C and half without), there was a significant association between having one or more tattoos and having hepatitis C. In short, the study found that people with hepatitis C were about three times more likely to have tattoos. This study did not prove causality, but is suggestive of a link between having a tattoo and hepatitis infection.

http://hepatitis.about.com/od/lifestyle/a/tattoos.htm

Have a great day

[flyinlynn]

Here you go Dee

from

http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/c/cfaq.htm

Can you get Hepatitis C by getting a tattoo or piercing?
A few major research studies have not shown Hepatitis C to be spread through licensed, commercial tattooing facilities. However, transmission of Hepatitis C (and other infectious diseases) is possible when poor infection-control practices are used during tattooing or piercing. Body art is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, and unregulated tattooing and piercing are known to occur in prisons and other informal or unregulated settings. Further research is needed to determine if these types of settings and exposures are responsible for Hepatitis C virus transmission.

hope that helps
Lynn

[Dee1956]

Hi have you seen any information about people who have tattoos?

I am just curious, some family members have them, I am concerned

Thank you
D

[ActingBrandNew]

Listen to this podcast...it should put your mind at ease.

AASLD Podcast-Sexual Transmission of Hepatitis C

http://hepatitiscnewdrugs.blogspot.ca/2013/04/aasld-podcast-sexual-transmission-of.html

[hrsepwrguy]

"Hi guys, Can Hep C be transmitted through sexual activity?"

How is HCV transmitted?

HCV is transmitted primarily through large or repeated percutaneous (i.e., passage through the skin) exposures to infectious blood, such as

-Injection drug use (currently the most common means of HCV transmission in the United States)
    
-Receipt of donated blood, blood products, and organs (once a common means of transmission but now rare in the United States since blood screening became available in 1992)
    
-Needlestick injuries in health care settings
    
-Birth to an HCV-infected mother

HCV can also be spread infrequently through
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sex with an HCV-infected person (an inefficient means of transmission)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Sharing personal items contaminated with infectious blood, such as razors or toothbrushes (also inefficient vectors of transmission)
    
-Other health care procedures that involve invasive procedures, such as injections (usually recognized in the context of outbreaks)

"if it does when will a blood test show it?"

How soon after exposure to HCV can anti-HCV be detected?

HCV infection can be detected by anti-HCV screening tests (enzyme immunoassay) 4–10 weeks after infection. Anti-HCV can be detected in >97% of persons by 6 months after exposure.

How soon after exposure to HCV can HCV RNA be detected by PCR?

HCV RNA appears in blood and can be detected as early as 2–3 weeks after infection.

http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HCV/HCVfaq.htm#c5