Ways Hepatitis C Can Be Transmitted
Blood and Blood Product Transfusions: Until early 1992, tests for detecting the hepatitis C virus in donated blood were not available. Before this time, many infections resulted from certain medical conditions or procedures that required donated blood or blood products (such as packed red blood cells or platelets).
Needlestick Accidents Among Healthcare Workers: Needlestick injuries can occur from handling hypodermic needles, blood collection needles, and needles used to connect intravenous (IV) delivery systems. These accidents typically happen when workers are recapping needles or when needles are not disposed of properly. There is also a risk of infection due to injury while transferring body fluids from one container to another.
Injection Drug Use: Today, sharing needles for injection drug use is the most common cause of new hepatitis C infection in the United States, accounting for over two thirds of all new cases. Although repeated use of shared needles significantly increases a person's chances of getting hepatitis C, people can become infected through occasional experimentation with injection drugs or even one-time use.
Other Blood-to-Blood Contact: Any other activity that involves blood-to-blood contact may allow for the transmission of hepatitis C. Examples include:
Acupuncture, body piercing, or electrolysis with unsterilized or improperly cleaned needles
Tattooing with needles that have not been sterilized or that have been dipped into contaminated ink. (If ink is not in individually-wrapped packets, there is a potential for blood to be transferred from one person to the ink and then to another person.)
Sharing certain personal care items (for example, razors, toothbrushes, nail clippers, or nail files) and other household items that might have blood on them. These items may come into contact with small amounts of blood that may not even be visible.
Healthcare workers' or other professionals' occupational accidents: fire, police, or emergency medical service workers as well as doctors and nurses (low risk)
Transmission from a mother to her unborn child (4% to 7% risk for children of women with detectable virus at time of delivery)
Transmission during hemodialysis treatment
Blood-to-blood contact during sexual activity between an infected and uninfected partner. (In this context, menstrual blood should be treated as any other kind of blood.) The risk of transmission during sex is not precisely known but is thought to be quite low. The risk of transmission is less than 3% for partners of hepatitis C infected persons involved in a monogamous relationship.
Intranasal cocaine use through the sharing of straws or other instruments—sharing straws to "snort" cocaine may lead to contact with small amounts of blood through nasal ulcers or scrapes.
2007-01-04 15:27:29
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answer #1
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answered by dee_ann 6
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