Hep C WARNING!!!

[schnitz]

Hey all
Something interesting was written in the Scrufff emails this week about hepatitis C. Its actually originally from DJ Mag and I dont how true it is, but it definately made me think twice about sharing.

Skrufff Bites:

"This disease is rife in the music industry. Hepatitis C seems to be attacking
the media industries in the same way HIV attacked the gay community in the
1980s. If you've shared bank notes or straws we urge you to get tested." (DJ
Magazine)

Hepatitis C Trusts spokesperson Raquel Joses warns that anyone who's shared
notes to snort lines of cocaine, speed, ketamine or anything else could be at
risk.

 

[atom_boy]

this should make you think twice about reading dj mag not sharing snorting devices.

obviously if someone hands a note on to you and they are such a fiend that their nose bled all over it then dont use it, but common sense should be telling you that anyway. otherwise, unless the technique for snorting drugs has changed rapidly now requiring people to shove the tube so far into their nose that you can see pieces of brain on it when you pull it out i wouldnt be concerned.

 

[vanth]

I'm not too sure about that, I know at least hepatitis B can be contracted that way.

Drug user's noses usually get pretty raw, especially by the end of a weekend bender, and the immune system of your average drug enthusiast isn't exactly stellar.

Use a straw and don't share, if you want to be safe.

 

[phase_dancer]

otherwise, unless the technique for snorting drugs has changed rapidly now requiring people to shove the tube so far into their nose that you can see pieces of brain on it when you pull it out i wouldnt be concerned.

Wrong!

Any transfer of body fluids can facilitate the transfer of Hep C. It doesn't live for very long outside the body, but is easily transmitted via blood-blood contact. Sharing straws, notes etc is a real concern, particluarly if the substance insufflated is coke. It's very common for the sharp edges to pierce the mucous membranes - often without the person being aware. Sharing can thus facilitate transferal of the virus.

Goblin BA; Factor SH; Wu YF; Valhi D. Hepatitis C virus infection among no injecting drug users in New York City. Journal of Medical Virology 70(3): 387-390, 2003. (35 refs.)

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among no injecting drug users has been reported to be higher than in the general population, but the reasons for this observation remain unclear. No injecting drug users aged 15-40 years and who used drugs for no longer than 10 years were enrolled in the study. The participants were interviewed about risk behaviors and had specimens drawn for serological testing. Of 276 enrolled, 4.7% were infected with HCV. Drug users who had ever sniffed or snorted heroin in combination with cocaine were significantly more likely to be infected with HCV compared with those who never sniffed or snorted heroin with cocaine. No other drug use or sexual risk behaviors were found to be associated with HCV infection. These findings suggest that sniffing or snorting heroin with cocaine may explain the increase frequently found in HCV infection among no injectors, but further studies are necessary.

 

[Flexistentialist]

Hepatitis C is spread by blood to blood contact only. It's not present in other body fluids in high enough levels for transmission. Indirect blood to blood contamination (such as minute particles of blood on hands, injecting equipment etc) can result in hep C transmission. The prevalence rates amongst injectors is very high and this incudes amongst people who've never shared actual needles.

It is possible that hep C can be transmitted through shared snorting utensils, although it does take actual blood to blood contact for this to occur. There's no effective vaccine available yet, although the new treatments are able to "cure" a fair number of people with the virus.

 

[tadfish]

can anyone say propaganda
scare tatics... thats it i quit drugs.. only joking

 

[tadfish]

can anyone say propaganda
scare tactics... thats it i quit drugs.. only joking

 

[phase_dancer]

Hepatitis C is spread by blood to blood contact only. It's not present in other body fluids in high enough levels for transmission.

Thanks for clarifying Flex

 

[phase_dancer]

Just thought I'd bump this in light of the media article on the front page

'Shared banknote' health warning to cocaine users

 

[the_ketaman]

im always the smart one who uses the note first, viruses like hepatitis and HIV dont live for a long time outside the body, so by no means am I saying its safe to share straws/notes but if you have had the note in your wallet for a day or two you will be ok. snorting drugs except for coke/ket is lame anyway, I got a fuckin nose bleed the other day from snorting pills

Needles and unsafe sex are on a completely different level though, you have to be stupid to share a needle or have unsafe sex with someone unfamiliar, I have been pretty desperate for a needle and could have shared one anytime, but I didnt. your just careless if you do that crap.

 

[insanit_e]

i know a guy who has Hep C from using heroin a couple of times when he was much younger, but he never shared needles, he actually got it because of everybody dipping their needles into the same mixture... i wouldn't have guessed that one was possible.

 

[Flexistentialist]

^ That sort of thing is probably the most common way that hep C is being transmitted. Hep C is quite virulent, and indirect blood to blood contamination during the injecting process (eg shared water, filters, torniquets, being injected by another person with minute traces of blood on their fingers etc) is responsible for a significant number of new infections. A lot of people end up with hep C and they've never shared needles, but they've shared other injecting equipment and the blood to blood contact was indirect.