People Who Inject Drugs (PWIDs) remain one of the most vulnerable groups for hepatitis C transmission in the UK. Despite progress in treatment and awareness, risks persist often in overlooked moments of everyday injecting practice. The Hepatitis C Trust’s recent poster campaign, ‘Spot the Risk’, Spot the risks leaflet – The Hepatitis C Trust, offers a powerful visual reminder of how transmission can occur in ways that may seem minor but carry serious consequences.
What the Poster Reveals
The ‘Spot the Risk’ poster features a typical injecting scene but with subtle risks embedded throughout. These include:
| Visual Element | Hidden Risk | Why it Matters |
| Shared water container | Risk of cross-contamination | Hepatitis C can survive in water and be transmitted if shared |
| Used tourniquet on communal surface | Blood residue risk | Even trace amounts of blood can carry the virus |
| Reused spoon or filter | Equipment contamination | Reusing any injecting equipment increases transmission risk |
| Uncovered wounds or blood stains | Environmental exposure | Blood-to-blood contact is the primary transmission route |
The poster challenges viewers to spot the risk not just in the image, but in their own practice and environments.
Why PWIDs are at Higher Risk
PWIDs face elevated hepatitis C risk due to:
- Sharing injecting equipment (needles, syringes, spoons, filters, water)
- Lack of access to clean supplies
- Limited awareness of indirect transmission routes
- Stigma and barriers to healthcare access
Even when needles are not shared, other equipment like water or filters can still transmit the virus.
Actions to Stay Safe
To reduce risk and support PWIDs in staying safe, services and individuals can take the following steps:
For Individuals
- Always use new, sterile equipment for each injection
- Avoid sharing water, spoons, filters, or tourniquets
- Clean surfaces and hands before preparing drugs
- Dispose of used equipment safely
- Seek regular hep C testing, early detection saves lives
For Services
- Ensure consistent access to NSPs (Needle and Syringe Programmes)
- Provide education materials like the Hepatitis C Trust poster
- Offer peer-led outreach to build trust and engagement
- Facilitate testing and treatment pathways without stigma
- Create safe environments for harm reduction conversations
Empowerment Through Awareness
Campaigns like ‘Spot the Risk‘ are more than posters they’re tools for empowerment. By encouraging PWIDs to identify hidden risks and take control of their health, we move closer to eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat.
Keep conversations going in clinics, communities, and care pathways, because spotting the risk is the first step to stopping it.