What is Hepatitis?

• Hepatitis is a virus that attacks the body's liver and damages the liver cells

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• There are several types of hepatitis (A, B, C, D, E). The most common type of hepatitis that occurs with sexual assault is B and C. You may be offered a medication to help prevent hepatitis during your follow up visits

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• Hepatitis can be passed onto other people by body fluids like blood, semen, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids

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• The change of contracting hepatitis from a sexual assault is low, ranging from 0.1 to 3% depending on the type of injuries and type of assault​

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• Hepatitis testing can be done by performing a blood test to see if the virus is circulating in your blood 

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• You will be re-tested for hepatitis on multiple follow up visits

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What is hepatitis prevention?

• Hepatitis prevention for you is customized by the healthcare provider initially treating you depending on the type of sexual assault that happened

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• You will be offered a medication that is taken by mouth that will stop the virus from duplicating in your body. The medication is usually taken for several months​

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• The most common form of this medication is called Harvoni

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• You will be offered a Harvoni application for financial assistance to obtain the medication free of charge during your treatment

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• During follow up visits your doctor will assess how you are tolerating the medicine and determine continuing the medicine