People are basically infected through contact with the blood or body fluids of infected animals or people, with most cases resulting from interpersonal transmission.
Interpersonal infection occurs when blood, other body fluids or secretions (faeces, urine, saliva and semen) from an infected person enter a healthy human body through broken skin or mucous membranes.
Infection can also occur when a healthy person’s broken skin or mucous membranes come into contact with objects or the environment contaminated with the body fluids of an infected person.