through unprotected sex – although this is very rare.

from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby.

sharing unsterilised needles – particularly needles used to inject recreational drugs.

Some ways the infection can be spread include: The hepatitis C virus is usually spread through blood-to-blood contact. The only way to know for certain if these symptoms are caused by hepatitis C is to get tested.

flu-like symptoms, such as muscle aches and a high temperature (fever).

When symptoms do occur, they can be mistaken for another condition. This means many people have the infection without realising it. Hepatitis C often does not have any noticeable symptoms until the liver has been significantly damaged.

You can become infected with it if you come into contact with the blood of an infected person. It's estimated around 118,000 people in the UK had chronic hepatitis C in 2019. Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the liver. If left untreated, it can sometimes cause serious and potentially life-threatening damage to the liver over many years.īut with modern treatments, it's usually possible to cure the infection, and most people with it will have a normal life expectancy.

If you have been affected