In general, you contract hepatitis C by coming in contact with blood contaminated with the virus. The hepatitis C virus is found mainly in the blood, but also in other tissues and body fluids containing blood. The virus enters the body through a break in the skin or through the mucous membranes such as your nose and mouth.

Hepatitis C is spread by blood from an infected person entering the bloodstream of another person. Every drop of blood from an infected person will contain the virus. For illicit drug users, the most common methods of infection are from:

• Re-using or sharing needles and equipment when injecting drugs
  
• Sharing personal things like razors or toothbrushes with an infected person
  
• Sharing tattooing or piercing equipment at home or in prison
  
• Sexual contact with an infected person where blood is present.

HCV is not related to the other viruses that cause hepatitis. Like the other hepatitis viruses, however, it is contagious. The hepatitis C virus is transmitted mainly by contact with blood or blood products. Because hepatitis C is often not detected for many years after infection, it may be difficult to pinpoint the exact event that caused your infection.Hepatitis C can be spread in a number of ways:

• Sharing needles, syringes, swabs, filters, spoons, tourniquets, and water for injection drug use. Sharing of contaminated needles among IV drug users is the most common mode of transmission. Using a needle to inject recreational drugs, even once several years ago, is a risk factor for hepatitis C.
  
  

• Accidentally being stuck with a needle that has been used on someone infected with hepatitis C. Needle sticks with HCV-contaminated blood: This is mostly seen in health care workers. The risk of developing HCV infection after a needle stick is about 5-10%.
  
  

• Receiving blood products or transfusions before 1992. In 1992, a test became available for checking blood for HCV. Blood and blood products are now tested to ensure that they are not contaminated. As a result, cases of hepatitis C related to transfusion, hemodialysis, or transplantation have dropped to almost zero since then. Transfusion of blood or blood products before 1992 is a risk factor for hepatitis C.
  
  

• You cannot get hepatitis C by living with, being near, or touching someone with the disease. You can get the disease by sharing a razor, nail clippers, or other such items with an infected person.
  
  

• Through sexual intercourse with an infected person: Having multiple sex partners is a risk factor.Having unprotected sex with a partner who is hepatitis C positive. Studies show that sexual transmission is very low. But there may be a higher risk with multiple sex partners, open sores in genital area during sex, or sex during menstruation. Transmission through sexual contact is uncommon as transmission occurs only through blood and not through semen or vaginal secretions. Safe sex should be practised - condoms and lubricant are recommended for anyone with a new sexual partner, during anal sex, if a partner is menstruating or when blood exposure is possible. Condoms and lubrication are also recommended for the use of sex toys.
  
  

• Using unsterilized body piercing and tattooing equipment. Tattooing with needles that have not been sterilized or that have been dipped into contaminated ink. (If ink is not in individually-wrapped packets, there is a potential for blood to be transferred from one person to the ink and then to another person.)
  
  

• Sharing certain personal care items (for example, razors, toothbrushes, nail clippers, or nail files) and other household items that might have blood on them. These items may come into contact with small amounts of blood that may not even be visible.
  
  

• Using any other household items contaminated with infected blood.
  
  
• There is a risk of transmitting hepatitis C from mothers to babies during pregnancy or birth.
  
  

• There is a risk of transmitting hepatitis C from mothers to babies, when the mother’s nipples are cracked or bleeding. Breast milk itself does not transmit hepatitis C. A small percentage of babies born to mothers with hepatitis C acquire the infection during childbirth. Mother-to-infant transmission rates are higher among women infected with both hepatitis C and HIV. Talk with your doctor about these risks before becoming pregnant.
  
  

• The source of transmission is unknown in about 10% of people with acute hepatitis C and in about 30% of people with chronic hepatitis C.
  
  

In many ways, it simply does not matter how you contracted hepatitis C:

• Your body's experience of the disease will not be different if it was transmitted through "risky" behavior rather than via blood transfusion or a workplace accident.

• There is no "judgment" made by the disease itself. It's not trying to teach you any lessons, unless they are ones you may already know: any risky behaviors should be avoided, and unsterile needles should be handled and disposed of as safely as possible.

• The goal for your healthcare team is to help you get better. Their focus is not on your past but on your treatment and how to optimize your future health.