Tattoo parties: Self reported HCV risk factors among members of a Philadelphia neighborhood

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common blood-borne infection in the United States, however, 50% to 75% of individuals with chronic HCV are unaware of their infection. This low rate of awareness has been largely attributed to the failure of risk based screening. In an effort to increase rates of HCV testing, the CDC has recently recommended birth cohort based screening in addition to risk based screening.

Methods: We assessed all HCV risk factors through a community based outreach program called the “Do One Thing Campaign” in Southwest Philadelphia. We focused our outreach in zip code 19143, a community with a high prevalence of HCV and HIV.

Results: Of the 543 individuals enrolled the first nine months of the program, 7% percent reported past or current injection drug use, while 4% reported having received a blood transfusion before 1992. Fifty-one percent reported having a tattoo, 26% of who received a tattoo at a tattoo party. Sixty percent of those receiving tattoos at parties were between the ages of 15-39.

Conclusions: Tattoo parties represent an unregulated environment with the potential for disease transmission if supplies are shared. The CDC has identified tattooing as a “potential” risk factor for HCV transmission but has not formally included it in its risk based screening guidelines. The high prevalence of unregulated tattooing among individuals outside of the 1945 to 1965 birth cohort requires that further investigation is conducted to determine the seroprevalence of HCV among this group.