3. Engaging in High-Risk Sexual Activities
Those individuals that engage in anal sex are at higher risk of developing HAV. Hepatitis A contaminates feces, increasing the risk of infection for those people. HAV also spreads through vaginal and oral sex as well, but the chances of infection are higher with anal sex.
People who choose to have multiple partners or same-sex relationships are also at higher risk of developing HAV infection. Hepatitis A can infect healthy individuals, even if they engage in safe sex practices and use a condom during their interaction.
In studies by the CDC, researchers discovered almost 40-percent of individuals infected with HAV, also had some form of sexually transmitted infection in the past. For those with HAV infection with no previous history of STI, research shows that HAV infection increases the chances of developing an STI in the future by between 10 to 40-percent.
Men and women involved in the sex trade are also at high risk of developing an infection with HAV.