HONG KONG: Getting a tattoo or body piercing may help you look ‘cool’ among your peers but the style statement may come loaded with an infection of hepatitis B and C virus.
Hepatitis virus is usually contracted through contact with blood and other body fluids of an infected person. Most patients we receive have a history of using unsterile needles.
The needles used by tattoo and piercing artists, if unsterilized, can put the customer at risk of contracting the virus.Doctors say symptoms of hepatitis do not manifest and thus leads to delayed detection in many cases.
“Sometimes, when hepatitis is detected in a patient, it turns out that many other members in his family have become carriers too,” said Gastrocare senior gastroentologist D Sanjay Kumar at a press conference ahead of world hepatitis day on Tuesday. Take example of 19-year-old Seema (name changed), who developed a liver problem which she could not realize until loss of appetite and pain in belly forced her to visit a doctor.
“The incidence of this silent killer is fast growing. While investigating a patient, it has now become a general practice to ask youngsters if they have a tattoo or body piercing. Unsafe pricking or piercing can lead to hepatitis infection,” he said. He also announced that Gastrocare centre will offer free of charge hepatitis B and C test on Tuesday to mark the occasion. Springing up tattoo shops are raising concerns over the lack of safety norms. Surprisingly, none of the tattoo parlours are registered in the state capital, say health department sources.
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