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Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the liver and can cause serious and potentially life-threatening damage if left untreated, over many years.

You can become infected if you come into contact with the blood of an infected person. However, unlike HIV which dies when it leaves the body, Hepatitis C has a 'tough outer shell' and can be passed on by sharing towels, toothbrushes, and douche equipment, for example.

There is no vaccine against Hepatitis C. Prevention includes harm reduction, testing donated blood and the treatment of people with chronic infection.

"The researchers conclude that eight out of ten infections were attributable to a single virus, occurred without rectal trauma and were not associated with injecting. Sex does not need to be “traumatic”, cause bleeding or involve injecting to pose a risk of hepatitis C transmission, as hepatitis C virus is present in semen and rectal fluids. Injecting methamphetamine during chemsex probably poses less of a risk than heroin injecting because it doesn't require cooking or filtering, so there is less potential for blood contamination of injecting equipment, the study authors say.

Hepatitis C prevention messages for gay men should clarify the potential for transmission during condomless anal intercourse, they say. “Intra-rectal exposure to semen during condomless anal intercourse is therefore likely sufficient for hepatitis C virus transmission among men who have sex with men,” they conclude."

Condomless sex sufficient to pass on hepatitis C between men | 21 Aug 2020 | nam aidsmap

An estimated 200,000+ people have Hepatitis C in the UK but, with a new generation of modern treatments, it's usually possible to cure the infection, and most people lead a normal life.

Sharing injecting equipment (slamming during chemsex) are largely understood to be responsible for a marked increase in Hepatitis C among gay men. This raises additional issues if you are already living with HIV.

Hepatitis C and chemsex | MEN R US

It's a complex area so please explore the information and support provided here.

Treatment

Hepatitis C treatment is not straight forward | nam aidsmap

Hepatitis B and C | Leeds Sexual Health | 2017 | 3m

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