|
|
Hepatitis B
Back to Liver
Page
-
|
The term "hepatitis" refers to
syndromes or diseases causing liver inflammation, including
inflammation due to viruses and chronic alcohol abuse. Viruses causing
hepatitis include Hepatitis A, B, C, E, and the delta factor. Each
virus causes a distinct syndrome, though they share some symptoms and
consequences.
Most people who become infected with hepatitis B get rid of the virus
within 6 months. A short infection is known as an "acute" case of
hepatitis B.
|
|
-
Hepatitis B is transmitted via blood and other body fluids.
Infection can occur through:
- Contact with blood in healthcare settings -- this puts physicians,
nurses, dentists, and other healthcare personnel at risk
- Unsafe sex with an infected person
- Blood transfusions
- Sharing needles during drug use
- Receiving a tattoo or acupuncture with contaminated
instruments
- Birth -- an infected mother can transmit the virus to the baby
during delivery or shortly thereafter
People who are at higher risk,
including healthcare workers and those who live with someone with
hepatitis B, should get the hepatitis B vaccine.
In acute hepatitis, it takes about 1-6 months from the time of
infection until symptoms appear. Early symptoms may include nausea
and vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, and muscle and joint aches.
Jaundice, together with dark urine and light stools, follows. About 1%
of patients infected with hepatitis B die due to liver damage in this
early stage.
The risk of becoming chronically infected depends on the person's age
at the time of infection. More than 90% of newborns, about 50% of
children, and less than 5% of adults infected with hepatitis B develop
chronic hepatitis.
Most damage from hepatitis B virus is caused by the body's response to
the infection. The body's immune response against the infected liver
cells (hepatocytes) damages the cells, causing liver inflammation
(hepatitis). As a result, liver enzymes (transaminases) leak out of the
liver into the blood, causing transaminase blood levels to be elevated.
The virus impairs the liver's ability to produce the clotting factor
prothrombin, increasing the time required for blood clot formation
(prothrombin time).
Liver damage also impairs the body's ability to rid itself of
bilirubin (a breakdown product of old red blood cells), causing
jaundice (yellow discoloration of the eyes and body) and dark
urine.
|
|
-
- Fatigue, malaise, joint aches, and low-grade fever
- Nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain
- Jaundice and dark urine due to increased bilirubin
|
|
-
- Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) -- this represents the first
viral marker present in blood tests after the patient is infected. It
usually disappears from the blood in 1-2 months.
- Hepatitis B core antibody (Anti-HBc) -- this is usually detected
within 1-2 weeks of the appearance of hepatitis B surface antigen.
- Hepatitis B surface antibody (Anti-HBs) -- this is found both in
those who have been immunized and those who have recovered from
hepatitis infection.
- Both hepatitis B surface antibody and core antibody persist
indefinitely in the blood of patients who have recovered from hepatitis
B.
- Liver enzyme (transaminase) blood levels may be elevated due to
liver damage.
- Albumin levels may be low and prothrombin time may be prolonged due
to severe liver failure.
|
|
-
Hepatitis B virus |
Digestive system |
|
|
News : Gujarat in
the grip of Hepatitis B, 19 killed
|
|
