Virus prevention IN EGYPT
Transmission by Reducing Exposure
Changing prevention from people to providers
HCV Awareness Programs In Egypt Do Not Work
Here are some important
Facts about how HCV is spread:
- HCV is a virus spread by blood.
- A person can become infected by contact with blood from
a person who is already infected with HCV.
- What does Contact with
blood from another person who may be infected with HCV mean?
|A good example is when a
person gets and injection. |
In this example the person does not know it but they
are infected with HCV. The needle and syringe now have HCV virus from the
infected person. If the needle or syringe is used again to give another injection,
that person will now get infected from the needle and or the syringe.
Anytime a medical or dental instrument is
used on one person and then used on another person without cleaning and
sterilizing the instrument, it can infect another person with HCV. We call this
exposure to HCV. Almost everyone in Egypt who has HCV has been infected by a medical or
dental instrument which has not be properly cleaned and sterilized or by
needles and syringes which should only be used once and then destroyed.
Use Needles and Syringes Only Once
blood is not really contact.
- If you do get blood on you from another
person and you wash it off you will not get infected.
- Preventing exposure to blood will reduce HCV transmission in Egypt.
forget if you have HCV and are diabetic do NOT share your blood sugar testing
equipment ever with anyone. Not your family or friends or anyone.
The many HCV awareness
programs in Egypt have been misdirect, provide incorrect
information, and do not sufficiently address HCV stigma.
Prevention of HCV in must be re-directed from people and patients to the
PROVIDERS. Providers mean health care providers. That is anyone and or the
location of health care services including medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and
This means that people who use health care services must realize that these faculties
and the doctors, nurses and other assistances may not the take the
necessary care to prevent you the patient from getting infected by
Here on this page is advise on how to prevent becoming infected with HCV:
Because there is no vaccine to prevent HCV infection: it is important that you:
- Understand how, in Egypt, the formal and informal medical and dental
care delivery system is where prevention is most important.
- Learn the simple ways (see below) that can prevent or stop
HCV infection from one person to another person.
- Use that knowledge to protect yourself, your family, your
friends, and the people around you.
- Share that knowledge. Speak to others around you and tell
them to tell others that they can help prevent HCV.
Health Care PROVIDERS: The most likely place where a person in Egypt can be exposed to blood (that is contact with
blood) and therefore exposed HCV infection is by a health care provider.
This includes all medical and dental care providers and their assistants.
Nurses, pharmacy assistants and dental assistants can be very careless. Being
aware of this will help protect you from being
infected. Infection with HCV may be by a medical or dental
instrument contaminated with the blood from the other person and used again
without cleaning it or disinfecting it.
- Needles and syringes are good examples if they have already
been used and
- Other medical and dental instruments that are not clean can
infect patients with HCV.
- Medical and dental instruments that are sharp and used for
treatment if not clean can infect others with HCV.
- There are many sharp instruments used to draw blood for testing
which may not be clean.
- The most important place where you may be exposed to blood from
another person is at the doctors office or the dentists office or the provider's
office or by the provider. When the pharmacy assistant (provider)
visits your home to give you an injection.... this could cause you to have
contact (exposed to blood) with an unclean needle or syringe.
- Health and dental care assistants (providers) may not
have sufficient training to kept sharp instruments clean or to discarded
used instruments that should be discarded after use.
- Medical and dental clinics and hospitals are the most likely
places that people will be exposed to blood (contact with blood) from
- The next time when you see a
doctor or dentist or anyone who is giving you medical, dental, or
- ask them to advise you how to
avoid exposure to HCV.
- Or tell them that you do not want to get infected by HCV.
- Make sure that they tell you
that they are aware of HCV and have taken precautions to prevent
patient exposure to HCV
- If they cannot tell you how to prevent HCV
or that their clinic has not taken precautions to prevent HCV, leave and
go somewhere else that can tell you how to prevent HCV and that their
facilities are clean.
- This means you should talk to other people
about finding doctors and dentists who take precautions to prevent
- Be sure to talk to others and spread your
Other examples that can
cause infection is when diabetic people
share their blood sugar monitoring equipment. You
should not share razors, tooth brushes, or cosmetic care equipment
with people around you.
Drugs in Multi Dose Vials: Many drugs are in small glass bottles called Vials.
contaminated multi-dose drug vials:
Infection from contaminated
multi-dose vials: many antibiotics and other drugs that are given by injection
can be contaminated with hepatitis C virus from a multi-dose vial. If a multi-dose vial becomes
contaminated with HCV everyone else receiving an injection from that multi-dose vial will become infected
with HCV. Each time a multi-dose vial is used a new needle and a new syringe
has to be used. Otherwise the vial can become contaminated. Visit this link to
learn more Click
You cannot become infected from
- By donating blood. Its always safe to give blood in Egypt
- Food, water, drinks, or breast milk
- Sneezing or someone near you sneezing
- Coughing or someone near you coughing
- Breathing air or from the air
- Sharing dishes, drinking glasses, eating utensils
- Casual contact
- Hugging or Kissing
There is no justification for a person to divorce, lose their job, or friends
because they have HCV.
There is no justification to be tested for HCV when applying for a job. Any
job. Testing people for employment is WRONG.
Remember it is safe to donate blood in Egypt.
Sexual transmission of HCV is rare. That is having sex almost never
infects the other person.
everyone should always take precautions to prevent sexually transmitted
here for additional information about preventing sexually
Understand how to avoid
Visit the Centers for Disease
Control Hepatitis C web site for more questions and answers.
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For Egyptian Health and Dental Care Professionals
The reduction of HCV transmission will require
a reduction in exposure to infection. Reducing exposure will require that all
persons working in the health care sector including dental care, nursing,
pharmaceuticals and all those who are assisting these professional will need to
improve infection control and practice safe injection procedures and aseptic