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How can you get hepatitis C?


Hepatitis C is a virus that is carried in blood. You can only get hepatitis C if blood from an infected person gets into your bloodstream.

In Australia most people have got hepatitis C from

  • Sharing any equipment used to inject drugs or steroids
  • Unsafe (unsterile) tattooing or body piercing
    Eg, reusing needles, dye and dye tubs and not using disposable gloves for each client
  • Blood transfusions before 1990
  • Immunisations using the same needle for many people in some countries after World War II
  • Health care worker accidents involving blood, eg cutting themselves during surgery
Some people don’t know how they got hepatitis C.


You can't get hepatitis C from

  • Sharing food
  • Drinking from the same cup or bottle
  • Hugging or kissing
  • Swimming pools
  • Showers, washing machines or toilet seats

So it is safe to live with a person with hep C, or work, or go to school with them.

The risk of getting hepatitis C from sex is extremely low, but there is a small possibility if blood is present.

It is uncommon for a mother to pass it on to her baby during pregnancy or birth.