Tattoo Time Bomb

Infectious Ink

by Erin Verkler

Another reason to regret that late-night tattoo: It could deliver the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a more dangerous manner.
 
 People with tattoos are just as likely as IV drug users to have HCV, a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study of 626 people suggests. But IV drug users were six times more likely to have the early warning signs of infection--nausea, fatigue, or jaundice--that can lead to quick detection and treatment. Why? While contaminated drug needles shoot large quantities of HCV directly into the bloodstream, tattoo needles pierce just the skin, introducing the virus into the bloodstream slowly and in smaller amounts. As a result, HCV symptoms may not show up for 20 years.