Hepatitis C is a devious little virus and can lie undetected for years.

You could be at risk if you've ever shared equipment for injecting drugs, or had a blood transfusion in the UK before September 1991.

Hepatitis C is mainly spread through direct contact with the blood of an infected person. Currently, the greatest risk of infection in this country is through sharing blood-contaminated needles and drug-injecting equipment.

If you've ever shared equipment for injecting drugs, even if it was a long time ago and you only did it once, you could be at risk of hepatitis C.

But there are other ways you can contract the virus. If you received a blood transfusion before September 1991 or blood products before 1986 you may be at risk of infection. If you had an operation before 1991 you may have received blood and could be at risk of infection. Today, all blood and blood products are screened for the virus.

Less common ways the virus is passed on include:

Infected mother to baby, before or during birth.
Unprotected sex with someone who has the virus.
Medical and dental treatment abroad, where unsterile equipment may have been used.
Tattooing, ear or body piercing, or acupuncture with unsterile equipment.
Sharing razors, toothbrushes or other toiletries that may have been contaminated with infected blood.

Before hepatitis C was first identified in 1989, some patients may have been given a diagnosis of non-A, non-B hepatitis. Whilst this was not specific, and may have had a number of causes, the majority of cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis resulting from blood and blood products have since been shown to be due to hepatitis C infection.

Arm yourself with the facts about Hepatitis C and get tested!