Hepatitis A
There is currently an outbreak of Hepatitis A among gay and bisexual men across Europe, including the UK.
Public Health England have recommended hepatitis A vaccination for all at-risk men.
You can get a free hepatitis A vaccination from our Unity Central clinic in Bristol or Unity @ WISH in Weston-Super-Mare. To book an appointment, please call 0117 342 6900 or come to the walk-in service.
Hepatitis A symptoms
Hepatitis A is a virus that infects the liver. It is easy to pass on during sex or from contaminated food and water. Nearly everyone makes a full recovery.
Hepatitis A symptoms can be so mild you may not realise you have it, but up to six weeks after infection it can cause flu-like symptoms, nausea and jaundice (yellowing of the skin). It is rarely life-threatening.
Hepatitis A transmission
Hepatitis A lives in faeces and can be transmitted through:
- Food or water contaminated with faeces
- Through oral or anal sex, when tiny amounts of faeces gets on fingers and into mouths through rimming, fingering or anal sex without condoms.
Hepatitis A prevention
As well as vaccination, hepatitis A can be avoided through careful hygiene during and after sex. The advice is to:
- Wash your hands after sex
- Use protection for fingering, rimming and fisting
- Change condoms between anal and oral sex
- Avoid sharing sex toys
Click here for information on Unity sexual health clinics.
For more information on other vaccination please see the Unity Vaccination page.