Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can lead to liver failure or liver cancer. The virus can be transmitted through contact with the blood of an infected person, use of contaminated needles, or sex with an infected partner.

``Healthcare workers and first responders exposed to blood in the workplace are at risk for infection by blood-borne pathogens. However, their risk for acquiring HCV infection is low because HCV is not transmitted efficiently through occupational exposure,'' the CDC authors report in the July 28th issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. First responders include firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics.

In fact, an analysis of five studies conducted in Atlanta, Georgia; Connecticut; Miami, Florida; and Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suggests that medical professionals who unintentionally get stuck with an HCV-infected needle have a 1.8% chance of contracting the illness.

Roughly 3.9 million Americans have been infected with HCV. The three risk factors that account for most of the infections are illicit drug use, high-risk sexual behavior and blood transfusions, according to CDC officials.