Transmission of HCV
Hepatitis A can spread through contaminated food or drinking water. There is a vaccine to prevent Hepatitis A.
Hepatitis B can spread through unprotected sex, or blood to blood contact however it is not spread through food or water. There is a vaccine to prevent Hepatitis B.
Hepatitis C is only spread from blood to blood contact. There is no vaccine to prevent Hepatitis C.
You can get Hepatitis C from:
- Sharing needles, pipes, straws, cookers, filters, ties, or water for drug use with anyone else, including your sexual partner.
- Sharing piercing or tattooing equipment (including ink).
- Sharing razors, toothbrushes or nail clippers, even if you cannot see the blood.
- Receiving blood transfusion (in Canada blood donated before 1990 was not screened for HCV).
The risk of Hepatitis C being spread through sexual contact is low, as it is only spread through blood-to-blood contact. HCV+ women can pass on the virus if they have unprotected sex while they are menstruating. If either partner is HCV positive, rough sex (where there is blood) involves a higher risk for transmission.
The risk of mothers transmitting HCV to their baby during childbirth is 3 to 5%. Breastfeeding is not considered a risk unless the nipples are cracked or bleeding. If an HCV+ mother does have cracked or bleeding nipples it is recommended that she stop breastfeeding until she has healed.
You CANNOT get Hepatitis C from:
- Casual, everyday contact
- Shaking hands
- Hugging, kissing
- Coughing, sneezing
- Giving blood
- Using swimming pools, toilet seats
- Sharing bed linens, eating utensils or food
- Mosquitoes and other insects or animals
Can Hepatitis C Survive outside the body?
Yes. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (2009), recent studies suggest that HCV may survive on environmental surfaces at room temperature at least 16 hours, but no longer than 4 days.
