Be aware of hepatitis

Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

28 Jul 2013: Despite Hepatitis being the second biggest preventable cause of cancer after tobacco, every one in 12 persons worldwide suffer from either chronic Hepatitis B or chronic Hepatitis C.

While the treatment for hepatitis has advanced tremendously in last few years, it remains one of the major cause of high mortality rate in India due to lack of awareness about this killer disease. Much has been done and written about HIV and AIDS being one of the most brutal diseases to grip a person, but less is known about the fact that Hepatitis C is 100 times more deadly than HIV infection for a human body.

Symptoms of Hepatitis:

In many cases, hepatitis causes no noticeable symptoms, so when hepatitis is caused many people are unaware that they are infected. However the symptoms may include:

 - Sickness
 - Muscle and joint pain
 - Fever
 - Headache
 - Occasionally yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice)

Types of Hepatitis

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A, caused by the hepatitis A virus, is the most common type of viral hepatitis. It is usually caused by infected food and/or water. There is no specific treatment other than using medication, such as painkillers to relieve symptoms. A vaccination can protect you against hepatitis A.

Hepatitis B

It is caused by the hepatitis B virus. The virus can be transmitted through blood and body fluids, such as semen and vaginal fluids. Unprotected sex, needle sharing, sharing razors, toothbrushes or any other material which might have visible or invisible blood on it can act as potential source of transmission of the virus. A vaccination is available for hepatitis B, which is recommended for people in high-risk groups, such as injecting drug users.

Hepatitis C

It is caused by the hepatitis C virus. This can be found in the blood and to a much lesser extent in the saliva and semen or vaginal fluid of an infected person. It is usually transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. There is currently no vaccination for hepatitis C.

Hepatitis D

It is caused by the hepatitis D virus and is present only in people already infected with hepatitis B as it cannot survive in the absence of hepatitis B virus.

Hepatitis E

This is caused by the hepatitis E virus and is generally a mild and short-term infection. It is spread in a similar way as hepatitis A i.e. contaminated food and water. Person-to-person transmission is rare.

Write your Comments on this Article
Your Name
Native Place / Place of Residence
Your E-mail
Your Comment	You have characters left.
Security Validation
Enter the characters in the image above

Disclaimer: Kindly do not post any abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful material or SPAM. BelleVision.com reserves the right to block/ remove without notice any content received from users.