The virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person - not through casual contact. The virus can be transmitted whenever any of these bodily fluids come in contact with the broken skin or a mucous membrane (in the mouth, genital organs, or rectum) of an uninfected person.
Originally known as "serum hepatitis",the disease has caused epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa, and it is endemic in China. About a third of the world's population, more than 2 billion people, have been infected with the hepatitis B virus. This includes 350 million chronic carriers of the virus.Transmission of hepatitis B virus results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood.
Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is a major global health problem and the most serious type of viral hepatitis. It can cause chronic liver disease and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
Causes
Having hepatitis means that your liver has become inflamed. Hepatitis can be caused by a number of things including:
Originally known as "serum hepatitis",the disease has caused epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa, and it is endemic in China. About a third of the world's population, more than 2 billion people, have been infected with the hepatitis B virus. This includes 350 million chronic carriers of the virus.Transmission of hepatitis B virus results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood.
Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is a major global health problem and the most serious type of viral hepatitis. It can cause chronic liver disease and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
Causes
Having hepatitis means that your liver has become inflamed. Hepatitis can be caused by a number of things including:
- drinking too much alcohol (the most common cause of liver damage)
- a virus infection, such as hepatitis B
- the body’s own immune system – a liver disease called autoimmune hepatitis
- the side effects of some drugs and chemicals.
Symptomps
Hepatitis B virus can cause an acute illness with symptoms that last several weeks, including yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. People can take several months to a year to recover from the symptoms. HBV can also cause a chronic liver infection that can later develop into cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer.
The hepatitis B virus is transmitted through contact with the blood and body fluids of someone who is infected. You're especially at risk if you are an intravenous (IV) drug user who shares needles or other paraphernalia, have unprotected sexual contact with an infected partner, or were born in or travel to parts of the world where hepatitis B is widespread. In addition, women with HBV can pass the infection to their babies during childbirth.
Vaccine
The hepatitis B vaccine should be given to anyone 18 years of age or younger who has not previously received it. Adoptees from countries where HBV infection is common should be tested for hepatitis B infection and vaccinated if not immune.
The hepatitis B vaccine is given as a series of three injections in the upper arm or leg.
Hepatitis B virus can cause an acute illness with symptoms that last several weeks, including yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. People can take several months to a year to recover from the symptoms. HBV can also cause a chronic liver infection that can later develop into cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer.
The hepatitis B virus is transmitted through contact with the blood and body fluids of someone who is infected. You're especially at risk if you are an intravenous (IV) drug user who shares needles or other paraphernalia, have unprotected sexual contact with an infected partner, or were born in or travel to parts of the world where hepatitis B is widespread. In addition, women with HBV can pass the infection to their babies during childbirth.
Vaccine
The hepatitis B vaccine should be given to anyone 18 years of age or younger who has not previously received it. Adoptees from countries where HBV infection is common should be tested for hepatitis B infection and vaccinated if not immune.
The hepatitis B vaccine is given as a series of three injections in the upper arm or leg.
- The time between the first and second shot should be at least 1 month.
- The time between the second and third shots should be at least 2 months. Ideally, it should be 4 months or more.
- At least 4 months should go by between the first and third shots.
Treatment
Acute hepatitis B infection does not usually require treatment because most adults clear the infection spontaneously.Early antiviral treatment may only be required in fewer than 1% of patients, whose infection takes a very aggressive course ("fulminant hepatitis") or who are immunocompromised. On the other hand, treatment of chronic infection may be necessary to reduce the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Chronically infected individuals with persistently elevated serum alanine aminotransferase, a marker of liver damage, and HBV DNA levels are candidates for therapy.
Although none of the available drugs can clear the infection, they can stop the virus from replicating, and minimize liver damage such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, there are seven medications licensed for treatment of hepatitis B infection in the United States. These include antiviral drugs lamivudine (Epivir), adefovir (Hepsera), tenofovir (Viread), telbivudine (Tyzeka) and entecavir (Baraclude) and the two immune system modulators interferon alpha-2a and pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys). The use of interferon, which requires injections daily or thrice weekly, has been supplanted by long-acting pegylated interferon, which is injected only once weekly.[37] However, some individuals are much more likely to respond than others and this might be because of the genotype of the infecting virus or the patient's heredity. The treatment works by reducing the viral load, (the amount of virus particles as measured in the blood), which in turn reduces viral replication in the liver.
Acute hepatitis B infection does not usually require treatment because most adults clear the infection spontaneously.Early antiviral treatment may only be required in fewer than 1% of patients, whose infection takes a very aggressive course ("fulminant hepatitis") or who are immunocompromised. On the other hand, treatment of chronic infection may be necessary to reduce the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Chronically infected individuals with persistently elevated serum alanine aminotransferase, a marker of liver damage, and HBV DNA levels are candidates for therapy.
Although none of the available drugs can clear the infection, they can stop the virus from replicating, and minimize liver damage such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, there are seven medications licensed for treatment of hepatitis B infection in the United States. These include antiviral drugs lamivudine (Epivir), adefovir (Hepsera), tenofovir (Viread), telbivudine (Tyzeka) and entecavir (Baraclude) and the two immune system modulators interferon alpha-2a and pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys). The use of interferon, which requires injections daily or thrice weekly, has been supplanted by long-acting pegylated interferon, which is injected only once weekly.[37] However, some individuals are much more likely to respond than others and this might be because of the genotype of the infecting virus or the patient's heredity. The treatment works by reducing the viral load, (the amount of virus particles as measured in the blood), which in turn reduces viral replication in the liver.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar