Hepatitis Australia

Hepatitis C 

Question 

‘I’ve been diagnosed with hepatitis C; can I pass this on to family members?’

Answer 

Hepatitis C (HCV) is transmitted by blood-to-blood contact. This means that the blood of an infected person has to get into the bloodstream of another person for infection to occur. As there is no vaccination against hepatitis C, precautions called ‘Infection-control procedures’ would need to be taken to guard against transmitting the virus. Wear rubber gloves while cleaning up blood spills. Also, do not share personal grooming items such as razor blades, toothbrushes (due to the possibility of bleeding gums) and sharp personal grooming aids.Transmission of hepatitis C through sex is unlikely; hepatitis C is not classified as a sexually transmissible infection, though infection is possible if there is blood-to-blood contact via any injury and contact with menstrual blood.

Question  

‘I am pregnant and I have been diagnosed with hepatitis C; can I pass this on to my baby?

Answer 

Yes. It is possible to transfer the hepatitis C virus to your baby. Research shows that the risk of transmission to a baby during pregnancy or childbirth is low. The risk is about 6% if you have detectable levels of the virus in your blood, that is, if you have a PCR test that shows the presence of the virus in your blood.¹

Women with very low levels of the virus (where PCR test showed negative for the presence of hepatitis C in the blood) are highly unlikely to transmit hepatitis C to their baby. However, women co-infected with both HIV and hepatitis C have a higher risk of transmitting hepatitis C to their baby.

There are no confirmed reports of hepatitis C transmission from mother to baby by breast milk and the current scientific opinion remains that there is no significant evidence of HCV transmission through breast-feeding. Scientists have found traces of the virus in some breast milk and colostrum (the breast fluid produced by the mother in the first few days of breastfeeding) but not enough to transmit hepatitis C. Damage to the nipples such as cracked and bleeding nipples could pose a possible risk to the baby if blood-to-blood contact occurs through small tears or scratches in or around the baby’s mouth. Therefore, it is recommended that women with hepatitis C who have cracked or bleeding nipples should express and discard their breast milk while their nipples are cracked.