Before hearing about the World Hepatitis Alliance’s ‘Am I Number 12?’ campaign, I was somewhat unaware of the background behind the Hepatitis virus. I was certainly unaware that it means ‘inflammation of the liver’ and although I had heard of Hepatitis B and C, I didn’t realise there were also A, D, E, F and G strains.

Everyone needs to know that Hepatitis can be spread through blood-to-blood contact, sexual intercourse and also through sharing needles, razors and even toothbrushes. Spreading the knowledge on how Hepatitis is spread could reduce its rate of infection; especially as something as seemingly innocent as sharing a razor could lead to contracting the disease.

I found a wealth of information from the World Hepatitis Alliance’s website: http://hepccentre.org.uk/awareness.htm, and I also signed up to their 2008 campaign at www.aminumber12.org to help raise awareness.