This shouldn't be a concern for anyone: The Robert Koch Institute is currently reporting an increase in cases of hepatitis A among gay men. This is particularly true for Berlin, but there are also more cases in other cities. The simplest protection: get vaccinated.
Compared to the five previous years, twice as many hepatitis A infections have now been reported in Berlin. There is no sign of a decline, so further cases are to be expected. Increased infection figures have also been reported from Munich. The hep A cases have mainly occurred in gay men. The Robert Koch Institute therefore recommends that men who have sex with men should be vaccinated against hepatitis A. ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU and the German AIDS service organisation Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe add their support: If you are already vaccinated against hep A, you can also have the vaccination against hep B at the same time. Both vaccinations are covered by health insurance if you state that you have changing sexual partners. Simply go to your trusted (family) doctor and ask about the vaccinations.
Who wants to miss out on sex that's fun?
Hepatitis A can be contracted through arse licking/rimming. Transmission is also possible if tiny traces of faeces, which can be on used rubbers or dildos, get into the mouth. This also applies to shared lubricant pots. Hepatitis B infections are possible, for example, when making out with minor bleeding in the mouth or when sharing tubes when snorting drugs.
What symptoms can occur?
A hepatitis infection often goes unnoticed or is not immediately recognised because sometimes there are no symptoms and in other cases the symptoms are often only mild and can be mistaken for those of the flu: slight fever, loss of appetite, headaches and nausea. There is often an aversion to fatty foods and alcohol. Abdominal and joint pains are also typical. More rarely, the skin and eyes turn yellow ("jaundice"), the urine becomes dark and the stools light in colour. Hepatitis A always heals, hepatitis B becomes chronic in around 5-10 % of cases, more frequently in HIV-positive people. Untreated chronic hepatitis B can lead to an aggressive course with increasing impairment of liver function and, if it lasts a long time, often to liver cirrhosis with permanent liver damage. Liver cirrhosis can develop into liver cell cancer.
Further information can be found in the IWWIT Knowledge Centre at www.iwwit.de/wissenscenter/sti/hepatitis-a-und-b
