Reducing hep C transmission is all about avoiding blood contact.

Injecting drug use

Harm minimisation and reducing transmission of hep C

Harm reduction

Safer using helps prevent hep C transmission

Cleaning needles and syringes

Tattooing and body piercing

Blood donation

Preventing transmission around the home

First Aid precautions

Blood contact

 

Injecting drug use

In Australia, hep C virus is transmitted mainly through injecting drug use. Many people who have injected drugs have hep C. Anyone who has ever shared injecting equipment may have hep C. It doesn’t matter what was injected: heroin, methadone, speed or steroids. It is the possible blood-to-blood contact during injecting that is a potential risk for transmitting infection.

Harm minimisation and reducing transmission of hep C

Australia's overall response to drug problems is based on the strategy of harm minimisation. It was adopted by our Federal and all State and Territory governments in the mid 1980s. The response is made up of three arms:

• Supply Reduction: having laws that make drugs illegal; and enforcing those laws through policing, courts and customs activities
• Demand Reduction: reducing people’s curiosity to use drugs through media campaigns about drug dangers; and reducing people’s addictions to drugs through drug rehabilitation and treatment services
• Harm Reduction: accepting that some people will use drugs and helping them reduce drug-related health risks such as avoiding hep C or HIV infection

Harm reduction

Australia’s Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) is our key harm reduction strategy for reducing transmission of hep C. Health clinics and pharmacies across the nation provide people with sterile injecting equipment and advice about safer drug use. Because of Australia’s needle and syringe program, we have one of the lowest rates in the world for HIV and hep C among people who inject drugs. Research shows that between 1991 and 2000, for every dollar spent on the program, Australia’s health system avoided $52 in treatment costs for HIV and hep C. During this ten year period, it is estimated that NSP helped prevent 25,000 HIV and 21,000 hep C infections.

Safer using helps prevent hep C transmission

There are people who have injected drugs for several years but not caught hep C - probably due to safe injecting practices. It’s important to inject drugs as safely as possible to avoid catching hep C or passing it on to others. If you inject drugs, consider the following harm reduction tips and wherever possible, teach them to other users, especially those who are new to using drugs:

• Choose not to take illegal drugs
• Decide to swallow, snort or smoke the drugs (rather than inject them)

If people choose to inject drugs:

• Use a sterile needle and syringe for every hit
• Don’t share any equipment (e.g. spoons, swabs, tourniquet) when preparing and injecting drugs
• Wipe down all surfaces where the hit is being prepared
• Wash hands before and after injecting, preferably using soapy water
• Avoid all contact with anyone else’s blood, including traces not able to be seen. This may mean giving advice but not physically helping someone else to inject
• Immediately after use, dispose of needles and syringes in sharps bins or fitpack

Cleaning needles and syringes

The best advice is to use a sterile needle and syringe for every hit. When this is not possible, people sometimes use pre-used needles and syringes. Advice on cleaning needles and syringes changes from time to time, so for current advice, contact the Hepatitis Helpline or the NSW Users & AIDS Association, NUAA (web link).

Tattooing and body piercing

If you get a tattoo or body piercing, you are putting yourself at risk of hep C and other blood borne viruses. To help reduce this risk, you should have your tattoo or piercing done at a licensed studio. In NSW, licensed tattoo and piercing studios are routinely checked by health inspectors. Most importantly, you should check that the worker uses standard infection control practices. In choosing a tattoo or body piercing studio, look for clean, hygienic, well lit premises. Ask the worker whether they use new needles each time and if they reuse needles, ask how they are sterilised. Ideally, you should be able to watch someone else being tattooed. While watching, you can check whether:

• New disposable gloves are worn for each client
• Tattooing and piercing utensils come from sterile containers or bags
• The tattooist opens single-use sterile equipment in front of clients
• The tattooist uses small separate containers of ink for each client, rather than dipping into one big container that is used for many clients
• The tattooist explains the tattooing process to each of their customers

Blood donation

If you have hep C you must not donate blood, because this would pass on the virus to other people. The blood bank leaves nothing to chance and screens donated blood for a range of viruses, including hep C.

Preventing transmission around the home

Hep C is not passed on through social contact such as touching, kissing, hugging, sneezing or coughing. Because of this, there is no need for separate crockery, cutlery, towels, or other household items, or to wash your clothes separately. Care should be taken not to share your razors, toothbrushes and sharp grooming tools because they could carry small amounts of your blood. Blood sucking insects like mosquitoes or fleas do not transmit hep C.

First Aid precautions

If providing first aid at an accident, you should try to ensure you are wearing disposable rubber gloves and check that you have no uncovered cuts, abrasions or dermatitis (skin rash). When cleaning up blood spills or other body fluids, you should ensure that you are wearing disposable rubber gloves. Disposable materials such as paper towels should be used to mop up the blood or body fluid. This should be then placed in a plastic bag. This should then be put into another plastic bag and disposed of in the garbage. Any surfaces which have had blood or other body fluid spills or splashes should be cleaned with detergent and water.

Blood contact

If blood contact occurs (e.g. during first aid or from fighting), you should wash the blood or body fluid away as soon as possible, preferably with soap and water. If necessary, rinse away from the eyes, nose and mouth with plenty of water.

 

 

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Stock photos used. People shown may have no actual connection with hepatitis C.

Top image by Paul Harvey.

This page last updated 14 May 2010

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