inPractice® - Hepatitis C Virus Transmission in Other Settings

Careful history taking may reveal underreported risk behavior, such as illicit drug injection; however, some cases of HCV infection are still apparently unexplained
Independent risk factors—apart from commonly reported factors such as IDU—appear to include incarceration, religious scarification, wound inflicted by bloody object, body piercing, and history of immunoglobulin injection^{[Murphy 2000]}
- There are also data describing the association of HCV transmission with cosmetic procedures and/or acupuncture, although the risk appears to be small^{[Conry-Cantilena 1996; Mele 1995; Sun 1996; Hwang 2006; Briggs 2001; Balasekaran 1999; Karmochkine 2006; Ernst 2003]}