Are people around me now at risk?

People around you are not at risk from catching HCV from day-to-day activities, unless they come into contact with your blood.

In practice, this just means taking care not to share anything that may contain traces of blood, such as toothbrushes, razors, and nail scissors and nail files.Unlike HIV, HCV can live outside of the body for days to weeks, and is infectious even after blood has dried.

Can I pass on HCV through sex?

The risk of sexual transmission is generally very low for heterosexuals. However, a recent increase in sexual transmission among gay men makes this question more complicated.

Sexual transmission in gay men has mainly been reported in HIV-positive men.

Can you catch another type of HCV or HIV?

Having one type of HCV virus doesn’t protect you from being infected with a different type of HCV.

See:  HCV genotype.

If you have cleared HCV and are no longer infected, you are not protected from becoming infected again with HCV in the future.

Reinfection with a different strain of HIV is more controversial. It certainly happens, but it is less common and it usually only has serious implications when the new virus is resistant to HIV treatment. This has been reported though and is the subject of futher research.

What about other types of hepatitis?

The word hepatitis just means inflammation of the liver. Other viral infections, heavy alcohol consumption, chemical fumes, or some medications can all cause hepatitis.

There are several different hepatitis viruses, each named alphabetically, in the order that they were discovered. Before it was discovered in 1989, hepatitis C was called ‘non-A non-B hepatitis’.

See: hepatitis A and B