What is Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver, which causes damage to liver cells. Over the years, 
several types of hepatitis infection have been identified.
Hepatitis A: is spread by faecal oral transmission, resulting from low levels of hygeine. It is an acute illness, with the body being able to eliminate the virus after infection. Hepatitis A can also be vaccinated against. It is relatively rare in Australia.
Hepatitis B: can be spread by both blood to blood transmission and via sexual contact. Most people can clear this virus also, however a small percentage of people will develop chronic infections and become carriers. Hepatitis B can be vaccinated against and is relatively rare in Australia. The Northern Territory however has 2x the national rate of hepatitis B.
Hepatitis C: is only spread by blood to blood contact. It is the most common form of viral hepatitis in Australia, and CANNOT be vaccinated against. Seventy five percent of persons infected with HCV will go on to have a chronic infection, most of which will develop some degree of liver damage and some of which will develop cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer.
Other types (D, E, F, G...) have been identified although they are exceedingly rare in Australia.
Hepatitis C
The Hepatitis C virus is believed to have been in the Australian community for many years, possibly since the 1960s.In Australia there are approximately 260,000 people that have been exposed to hepatitis C and 16,000 new exposures each year.
Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus (BBV) and must be transmitted through blood.
If you have any questions that you would like to discuss don't hesitate to contact NTAHC and speak to one of our workers.