Hepatitis is most often caused by a virus that can be passed on from one person to another (communicable). Hepatitis A, B, and C are all transmitted from one person to another. Each of these viruses has a specific means of transmission. Read on to learn how each type of hepatitis is spread.
Hepatitis A: Contaminated Food or Water
A person may get hepatitis A virus simply by eating food or drinking water that has been contaminated by infected human excrement. This is called the "fecal-oral" route of transmission. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also lists the following risk factors for contracting or transmitting hepatitis A:
- Household or sexual contact
- Day care attendance or employment
- Recent international travel
- Food handlers
- Individuals who have used contaminated needles
Hepatitis B virus is spread through contact with infected blood. There are many ways of coming in contact with blood, such as from cuts, nosebleeds, and even menstrual blood. Even the tiniest amount of blood on common objects like a toothbrush, razor, or manicure instrument can carry enough of the virus to infect someone. Infants born to HBV-infected mothers can contract the virus in up to 90% of cases. Approximately one-third or more of hepatitis B cases result from unknown sources.
Some of the ways in which hepatitis B is spread include:
- Blood transfusion before 1975
- Hemodialysis (using kidney machines)
- Jobs with exposure to blood (especially health care workers)
- Unprotected sex with multiple partners
- Tattoos and body piercing
- Sharing straws for inhaling cocaine
- Close household contact with an infected person
- Sharing personal care items (razors, nail clippers, etc.)
- Sharing needles for IV drug use
- People traveling to countries where hepatitis is common (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other countries in Southeast Asia)
- From mother to baby at birth
Like hepatitis B, hepatitis C is spread through contact with infected blood. With hepatitis C, there is risk associated with everyday events such as bleeding from cuts or nosebleeds, and blood from menstruation. Household personal effects that come in contact with the blood of an infected person can become a means of transmitting the virus (for example, toothbrushes, razors, or manicure instruments). HCV is only rarely spread from mother to baby at the time of delivery.
The main ways in which hepatitis C is spread are:
- Blood transfusion before 1992
- Hemodialysis (using kidney machines)
- Jobs with exposure to blood (especially health care workers)
- Tattoos and body piercing
- Sharing straws for inhaling cocaine
- Sharing personal care items (nail files, nail clippers)
- Sharing needles for IV drug use
Privacy PolicyCopyright © 2002, Schering Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ 07033. All rights reserved.