The Bloodborne STI: Hepatitis C Is A Global Health Crisis
According to WHO, Hepatitis C is a bloodborne virus that is transmitted through contact with blood from an infected person. Hepatitis C infection has emerged as a global health crisis. It is one of the major global causes of death. Data indicates that over the last decade, its seroprevalence has doubled to over 2.8%, which relates to approximately 190 million infections globally. Hepatitis C exhibits a unique genetic diversity characterized by different genotype mutations, which poses a challenge in improving and developing pan-genotypic treatment and vaccines.
Midgley et al., 2017, about 20% of HIV gay men contract Hepatitis C through unprotected anal sex. At the same time, 30% of people who acquire Hepatitis C are gay men who are HIV-negative. Therefore, the above data suggest that prevention measures and societal messages on the sexual transmission of Hepatitis C must be changed. Prevention measures should focus on sexual activities that lead to trauma of the rectum, such as group sex, chem sex, sex toys, and fisting. Several studies highlight unprotected receptive anal sex as the leading risk factor.
Signs That You May Have Contracted Hepatitis C
In the acute stage of Hepatitis C, most people do not have easily noticeable symptoms, including fatigue, abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and loss of appetite. Hepatitis C affects the liver; therefore, most patients show signs of jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin due to building up bilirubin). This symptom usually leads to a Hepatitis C test being suggested. Chronic infection is characterized by minor inflammations that may lead to cirrhosis and eventually liver cancer. Patients with chronic stages of Hepatitis C experience chronic fatigue, irritable bladder, dry eyes, and pain in the upper part of the abdomen.
Effects of Hepatitis C on Overall health
Hepatitis C increases the chances of autoimmune dysfunctions in women, higher risk of gall bladder disease, heart disease (coronary artery diseases), arthritis, jaundice, and cognitive dysfunctions. About 85% of people with Hepatitis C may suffer cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer if they go untreated for long.
Living with Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C damages the liver. Infected persons should therefore ensure that the damages are minimized as much as possible through regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of rest, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and avoiding supplements that damage the liver. People with Hepatitis C have symptoms like depression and anxiety. These symptoms are sometimes caused by drugs used as treatment. Patients may feel depressed, confused, and emotionally unstable. Therefore these patients need support from friends and family.
Hepatitis C Diagnosis and Treatment
The virus is diagnosed through a blood test. Treatment entails taking antiviral medications that clear the virus from the bloodstream and ultimately cure the virus. Diagnostic procedures include Hepatitis C RNA measurement, serum Hepatitis C antibody testing, viral genotype, and subtype determination.
Individuals who develop chronic effects of Hepatitis C can also go through a liver transplant to replace the damaged liver with a healthier one. This, however, doesn’t cure Hepatitis C; antiviral medication is also required after the process to clear the virus from the bloodstream. Viruses like Hepatitis A and B are not easily contracted after treatment. The case is different with Hepatitis C because you can get re-infected even after being treated or naturally clearing the virus; it is therefore advised that an individual should regularly get tested.
HIV Coinfection
The risk of sexual transmission of Hepatitis C depends on the type of sex involved. There is a lower risk in heterosexual couples compared to homosexual couples. Individuals in monogamous relationships with partners infected with Hepatitis C are at a lower risk of contracting the virus unless they are infected with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV). In such couples, CDC doesn’t recommend using condoms as a preventive measure, and it states that couples should avoid sharing razors, toothbrushes, anal sex, and sexual intercourse during menstruation. The risk of transmission increases when an individual engages in multiple short-term relationships with different partners. Under such circumstances, CDC recommends using condoms as a preventive measure. A small percentage of people can clear Hepatitis C from their body without treatment; about 20% of HIV-negative people will clear the infection on their own, while 80% will likely get infected chronically. In individuals with HIV, only about 10% can clear the virus from their body, and 90% are likely to get infected chronically. There is no clear method of prediction on who can clear the virus “naturally” and those that cannot. It is advisable to get tested and treated.
Hepatitis C Transmission
The risk of infection with Hepatitis C is increased by activities like; unprotected anal sex, sexual intercourse with two or more people, and engaging in sexual intercourse when infected with an STI, and this increases the risk of blood contact, which can lead to infection, very rough vaginal sex that could result to bleeding either from the vagina or penis, unprotected fisting, having sexual intercourse during menstruation and sharing anally used sex toys with an infected person. The risk of transmission of hepatitis C is higher during anal sex than vaginal sex. This is because; the vaginal cellular connections are stronger while the cellular connections of the rectum are fragile.
Practice Safer Sex to Prevent Hepatitis C Contraction
Hepatitis C virus affects the liver, and the risk of transmission of the virus through oral sex is very low; however, the leading cause of sexual transmission of Hepatitis C is unprotected anal sex among gay men. Most people live with Hepatitis C for many years without knowing it. These patients further develop liver cirrhosis, kidney, development of toxins in the brain, bleeding in the esophagus, liver cancer and fluids in the belly, and lung failure. The transmission of Hepatitis C can be controlled by having protected anal sex, avoiding unprotected sexual intercourse during menstruation, avoiding rough sex that leads to tearing and bleeding, reducing your number of sexual partners, and avoiding sexual intercourse when infected with an STI.
References
Foster A et al. Rectal shedding of HCV in HIV/HCV coinfected men. AASLD Liver Meeting, San Francisco, abstract 89, 2015.
Heidrich B et al. HCV RNA and HCV core antigen are frequently detectable in stool of men chronically infected with HCV: Is feces a potential source of infection? AASLD Liver Meeting, San Francisco, abstract 1002, 2015.
Midgley L et al. Acute hepatitis C infection in lower risk MSM: an evolving picture. British HIV Association conference, abstract O24, Liverpool, April 2017.
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