Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are different types of viruses that damage your liver. They both spread through blood. But people get these two types of viruses in different ways. The treatment for them varies too.
Hepatitis B spreads through blood and some sexual fluids. Most people get hepatitis B at birth or in early childhood. You can also get hepatitis B if you have sex without a condom or have unsafe medical procedures. There is a vaccine to prevent hepatitis B, but there is no cure. Some people living with chronic hepatitis B may need to take medicine, which works well to protect their liver from damage.
Hepatitis C is transmitted by blood to blood contact. Mostly this happens from sharing needles, syringes or other injecting equipment. You could also get it from tattooing or body piercing with unsterile equipment (e.g. backyard tattoos or tattoos done in some overseas places), from medical procedures with unsterile equipment, from sharing toothbrushes, razors or nail , or anal sex without a condom. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. But there is a cure that works well for most people.
Both hepatitis B and hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver disease and liver cancer.
Yes. There are vaccines for hepatitis A and hepatitis B. They can protect your liver from another infection that could damage it.
Getting the hepatitis A vaccine is safe if you have hepatitis B or hepatitis C.
Getting the hepatitis B vaccine is safe if you have hepatitis C.
Testing for hepatitis B and hepatitis C is not a part of normal blood tests. Most of the time you'll have to ask your doctor to include hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
There are two exceptions to this:
No. Hepatitis B doesn't spread through touching or saliva. You can only get hepatitis B from blood or sexual fluids.
Most people get hepatitis B at birth or in early childhood. You can also get hepatitis B if you have sex without a condom, share injecting drug equipment or have an unsafe medical procedure.
No. Hepatitis B does not spread through touching or saliva. You can only get hepatitis B from infected blood or sexual fluids.
Most people get hepatitis B at birth or in early childhood. You can also get hepatitis B if you have sex without a condom, share injecting drug equipment or have an unsafe medical procedure.
Yes. Although most people get hepatitis B at birth, sex is one of the other ways it spreads. Hepatitis B spreads through blood, semen and vaginal fluids. This means it can spread through vaginal, anal or oral sex without a condom.
You can protect yourself against hepatitis B by using a condom. But the best way to protect yourself is by getting a vaccine.
Hepatitis B can't spread through normal hugging, kissing or sharing meals, showers or toilets with someone who has hepatitis B.
Most of the time it is your choice whether or not to tell people if you have hepatitis B. You don't have to tell doctors, dentists, or people who work in tattoo and piercing parlours. This is because these places have rules in place to stop the spread of viruses.
If you need help to find a doctor to manage your hepatitis B, you can contact HepLink. It is important that you get liver checks every 6-12 months.
It's a good idea to tell your partner, family and people you live with. This means they can get tested for hepatitis B. If they don't have hepatitis B, they can protect themselves by getting a vaccine.
Sometimes you must tell people that you have hepatitis B. You must tell people:
For more information about telling people, you can visit this page or contact HepLink
Most people living with hepatitis B can migrate to Australia. You can find out more about this on the page Hepatitis B and Migration
No. There is no cure for hepatitis B. But you can manage your hepatitis B. If you have chronic hepatitis B, it is very important that you see your doctor every 6 to 12 months. The doctor will check the health of your liver.
Some people need to take medicine for hepatitis B to manage the virus.
Experts are looking at new ways to treat hepatitis B. This may lead to a cure in the future.
Yes, you should get your liver checked every 6 to 12 months. Even if you feel fine, hepatitis B can still damage your liver. If you wait until you feel sick, you might already have liver damage that can't be fixed. The only way to know this is to keep getting your liver checked. If the virus starts causing damage to your liver, you may need to take medicine. This can slow down the damage.
Yes, the most common way people get hepatitis B is through birth. Hepatitis B does not spread through breast milk.
There are ways to stop hepatitis B from being passed on from mother to child. When the baby is born, they should get two injections. It is best if your baby has these 12 hours after they are born.
One injection contains immunoglobulin (HBIG). This vaccine is only given to babies whose mothers have hepatitis B. This injection has antibodies that help the body fight the virus. It provides very quick, short-term protection.
The other injection is baby’s first hepatitis B vaccine. This is called the Birth Dose vaccine. All babies get this vaccine, even if their mother doesn’t have hepatitis B. They'll also get 3 more hepatitis B vaccines over the next 6 months. Together this can protect the baby against the virus.
Some women have a high level of the virus in their body while they are pregnant. This means they are more likely to pass it on to their baby. You can take a test for this. If you have a high level of hepatitis B (sometimes called viral load), your doctor can give you medicine (also called antiviral therapy). The medicine will make it less likely that you pass the virus onto your baby. It is safe to take while you are pregnant.
Yes. It's your choice who you tell that you have hepatitis B. It's a good idea to tell your partner, family and the people you live with. This means they can get tested. If they have never had hepatitis B they can protect themselves by getting the vaccine.
If you are worried about telling them, you can talk to your doctor or contact HepLink.
Yes. To make sure it is safe, your baby should get two injections when they are born.
Your baby has these injections within the first 12 hours. One injection contains immunoglobulin. These are antibodies that help the body fight the virus. The other injection is baby's first hepatitis B vaccine. All babies get this vaccine, even if their mother doesn't have hepatitis B. They'll also get hepatitis B vaccines over the next 6 months.
Once your baby has received their immunoglobulin injection it is safe to breastfeed.
No. The only way you can get hepatitis C is from someone else’s blood who has the virus coming into contact with your blood.
No. The only way you can get hepatitis C is from someone else’s blood who has the virus coming into contact with your blood.
If you have vaginal or oral sex, you're not likely to get hepatitis C. But you're more likely to get it if you have anal sex without a condom. This is because the tissue is very thin, so the virus can get into your blood.
You may also be more likely to get hepatitis C if you:
The amount of blood needed to pass hepatitis C on is very small. You might not even be able to see it. Using a condom while you have anal sex means you’re less likely to get hepatitis C.
Normally, it is your choice whether to tell people if you have hepatitis C. This includes doctors, dentists and places where you can get a tattoo or piercing. This is because they have rules in place to stop the spread of viruses.
If you need help to find a doctor to cure your hepatitis C, you can contact HepLink.
There are some times when you must say if you have hepatitis C now, or have had it in the past. These are:
For more information about telling people, you can visit this page or contact HepLink.
No. Even though you don't have hepatitis C anymore, you will always have hepatitis C antibodies.
Antibodies are proteins that your body makes to fight the virus.
When the blood bank tests blood for hepatitis C, they use an antibody test. This means that if you have hepatitis C antibodies, they will not be able to use your blood.
In the past, any person who had ever injected drugs wasn't able to give blood. It didn't matter if they had antibodies or not. This is not true anymore.
Even if you feel fine, hepatitis C can still be harming your liver. If you wait until you feel sick, the virus may already have caused a lot of harm. And you might not be able to heal. If you don't get treated, you could have liver failure, severe liver scarring (cirrhosis) and liver cancer.
Getting rid of hepatitis C also means you can’t pass it on to others. But you can still get it again if you come into contact with the blood of someone who has it.
Many people who have been cured of hepatitis C report that they:
Talk to your doctor or call HepLink about the best time for you to start taking medicines. The new direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medicines are easy to take and most people have few or no side-effects.
There is a small chance that babies can get hepatitis C from their mother. This can happen during birth. If you are pregnant and have hepatitis C, you should talk to your doctor.
If you are thinking about getting pregnant and have hepatitis C, talk to your doctor. You can clear the hepatitis C first.
Right now in Australia, we don't have enough information to know for sure if it is safe to take DAA medicine for hepatitis C while you are pregnant or breastfeeding. For this reason, treatment is usually delayed until after the baby is born and breastfeeding is finished.
Yes. The main types of medicines for hepatitis C are direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). If you've had these before, you can take them again. Your treatment might be a bit different to someone who has never taken these medicines before. You might also need to see a specialist doctor so you have the best chance of getting cured.
In the past, some people had interferon treatment, which had very bad side effects and didn’t always work. If you’ve had interferon treatment, you can get DAA medicines.
No, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. But there are vaccines for hepatitis B and hepatitis A. It's a good idea to have these. They help protect your liver.
You can lower your chance of getting hepatitis C by making sure your blood doesn’t come into contact with someone else’s blood, including:
You can get sterile injecting equipment from a Needle Syringe Program (NSP). You can find an NSP on the AIVL NSP Directory or contact HepLink.