'Look after your blood' campaign targets BBV prevention in young Aboriginal people.
The Department of Health has launched a campaign to raise awareness of blood-borne viruses (BBVs), focusing on prevention and early testing among Aboriginal people aged 16 to 39 years.
BBVs such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV are transmitted through contact with infected blood, with hepatitis B and HIV also transmissible via sexual activity, and hepatitis C if blood is present.
The 'Look after your blood' campaign was developed with input from Aboriginal health workers, community leaders, and organizations including peer groups representing people who inject drugs. Insights from Aboriginal people with lived experience of hepatitis C and HIV also informed the campaign.
Testing is encouraged because many people with BBVs may not show symptoms.
Hepatitis C notifications remain disproportionately high among Aboriginal people in Western Australia. Injecting drug use contributes to a proportion of newly diagnosed HIV infections in the state.
Treatments are available that allow people with BBVs to live long, healthy lives. A cure exists for 95% of chronic hepatitis C cases, and treatments are subsidized under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Effective treatments are also available for HIV.
Health professionals are encouraged to promote BBV testing and prevention messages within their services and networks.
More information is available at lookafteryourblood.health.wa.gov.au.