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Viral Hepatitis Service
Hepatitis C (HCV) is a virus that can cause liver disease. Generally, the virus is transmitted by blood-to-blood contact and before the introduction of screening donated blood in 1991, it was also spread through blood transfusions. HCV can be acquired by people who inject drugs through the sharing of needles and other injecting paraphernalia (gear) and there is a small risk of infection associated with tattooing, electrolysis, body piercing, acupuncture and sexual intercourse. There is a transmission rate of about 6% at birth from mother to child if the mother is a HCV carrier (NICE 2004).
Hepatitis B (HBV) is a virus that can cause liver disease and is present in bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, semen and vaginal fluid. In the UK, Europe and North America, HBV is mainly passed from person to person by having unprotected sex. In the rest of the world the most common way of getting infected is from mothers to their baby during birth, or from child to child bodily fluid contact (British Liver Trust 2003).
The Viral Hepatitis Service at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds provides a supportive and educational role for patients with Hepatitis B and C, their families and other health care workers. Assessment, initiation and follow-up of treatment for patients with Hepatitis B and C is undertaken within a nurse-led service in collaboration with the medical staff.
For information about healthy eating please click here
For information about liver biopsy
For the hepatitis C referreal form click here
Our contact telephone number is 0113 2065949
Fax number: 0113 2066462 please mark fax For the Attention of the Viral Hepatitis Nurses
Useful websites
www.hepccentre.org.uk/aware.htm
www.britishlivertrust.org.uk