Hepatitis B and C Risk Factors

Bloodborne
-Sharing needles or syringes to inject drugs or for tattoos.
-Receiving blood without screening (Though rare these days, thanks to the improvements of screening)
-Dirty medical equipment while receiving a treatment
Very rare as seen in other regions.
Mother-to-Child: The newborn can receive it from a pregnant mother during childbirth if the mother has hepatitis B.

Sexual Transmission:
Unprotected sexual contact with an infected person.
Having multiple sexual partners.

Occupational Exposure:
Healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and lab technicians, who handle blood or other bodily fluids.

Factors Contributing to Challenges in Reducing Transmission:

-Lack of awareness and education: Most individuals do not have information on hepatitis B and C risks and the modes of their transmission.

-Discrimination and Stigma: Most infections lead to stigma that might prevent individuals from going for tests and treatment.

Limited access to health care: Most individuals lack quality health care, including tests, vaccination, and treatment of hepatitis.

-Poverty and Socioeconomic Factors: Poverty and socioeconomic inequalities increase the risk factors of hepatitis B and C, including unsafe injection practices and limited access to health care.

-Inadequate Infrastructure: In some areas, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, including limited access to sterile equipment and trained healthcare workers, can contribute to the spread of these infections.

Addressing these challenges requires a multi-pronged approach, including:

-Public Health Campaigns: Public education on hepatitis B and C, their transmission, and prevention and treatment.
Vaccination Programs: Wider access to hepatitis B immunization, especially among infants and other high-risk groups.
Healthcare Access Increased: Improved access to quality health care, including diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B and C infection.
Socioeconomic Disparity Reduction: Poverty elimination and increasing education and access to and use of health care by deprived populations.

-Harm reduction activities. Such activities may include needle exchange and syringe programmes for injecting drug users, thus reducing infections.
-Stigma reduction. Promote stigma reduction campaigns that call upon people to come for testing and treatment without the fear of stigmatization.