Steven Tyler admits he has hepatitis C

I would just like to add to this article that unsafe sex is NOT a common transmitter of the hepatitis C virus, in fact the chances of spreading it via sexual contact are slim to none. The ONLY way hepatitis C is spread is by direct blood-to-blood contact (i.e. blood transfusions recieved before 1990 when donor blood was not screened for HCV, improperly sterilized tattoo and piercing equipment, shared IV drug needles, etc etc). HCV is not spread via other bodily fluids such as saliva or s***n. If a person was going to get infected from having unprotected sex, both partners would have to have open tears in the skin with blood present.
Millions of people in the U.S alone have this disease, and many don’t even know it. It’s time ignorance about this disease and the social stigma surrounding it is eradicated. I have great hope for Mr. Tyler playing a part in speaking out and educating the public about it. I also believe HCV testing should be mandatory, like what is being proposed for HIV. It would save lives, no doubt.
I also have HCV, and am currently treating for it. I am a 41 year old female, with no history of IV drug abuse. My doctors believe I may have contracted it from a blood transfusion recieved during surgery in 1985, but no one can be absolutely certain of that. It just goes to show that ANYONE can have this disease, from any walk of life. Automatically assuming that anyone that is HCV-positive is a dirty low life drug abuser or sexually promiscuous is wrong and incredibly ignorant.

Hi Squeaky,

Thanks for making the comment. Heather got the information about sexual transmission from the Wikipedia entry on Hepatitis C - we apologise if that’s wrong.

But either way, people should practise safe sex (and body-fluid safety in general) anyway until both partners have been tested for a full range of diseases - including Hepatitis C.

We in no way intended to suggest anything about the lifestyles of sufferers when referring to needles and that why Heather wrote “most commonly” because we know that blood transfusions have been a problem area in the past. In fact, Heather actively researched the disease (albeit possibly interpreting the information incorrectly) because it really annoyed us that other news outlets insinuated that sufferers were mostly drug users.

Thank you again for the comment and I hope our readers find it informative.

-LucyLastic
Fametastic

story is not correct. hcv is not transmitted thru sex.straight sex.its like 2 ta 3 % at the most.hcv is not a std.

i also have hcv and cleared. still have sides.

I have worked with people who are HCV positive for more than 10 years. Its great to see people who have a high public profile coming forward with stories of their HCV status. Hopefully this will encourage more to go public and decrease the stigma of it being a ‘druggies disease’that stops a lot of people from getting diagnosed and treated.Who cares how any of us got any disease- it is important for individuals and communities to be as healthy as possible. We now can get a cure of 60% to 80% of all people so all should have the opportunity of accessing treatment if they want to.