HEPATITIS A, B AND C.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation (being swollen and/or painful) of the liver,
an organ which is essential to life. If the liver does not function
properly, it can cause serious illness. Hepatitis is usually caused
by a virus, but other factors like drugs, alcohol and medications may play a role.
There are several viruses which can cause hepatitis.
Letters of the alphabet identify these viruses. The 3 most common types
of Hepatitis are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis
C. All these viruses cause similar problems and have similar
symptoms but are spread in different ways and have different effects
on your health.
HEPATITIS A
What is hepatitis A?(back
to top)
Hepatitis A is a disease of the liver,
caused by the hepatitis A virus. Hepatitis A is fortunately quite rare
in the U.K. It tends to be more common in countries with poor personal
hygiene.
What causes
hepatitis A?
It is possible to become infected with hepatitis
A through eating or drinking contaminated food or water. The virus spreads
easily within families and places where people live in close contact
e.g. school institutions. The virus is found in faeces and can be passed on even if a tiny amount of virus comes into contact
with a person’s mouth. It is therefore always very important to
wash your hands after going to the toilet and before eating. The virus
may also be passed on through sexual activity.
Am I at risk from hepatitis A?
The following are factors that could put you at
risk of getting hepatitis A: -
- Poor personal hygiene.
- Close personal contact with someone with hepatitis
A.
- Swimming
in water that may be contaminated.
- Eating food that has been
washed in contaminated water e.g. fruit.
- Eating shellfish from seawater
that is contaminated.
- Travelling to countries with
a high rate of hepatitis A.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis A?
People with hepatitis A may have no symptoms depending
on the severity of infection, but can still pass the virus on to others.
Possible symptoms may include: -
- Flu-like
symptoms (fever).
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Diarrhoea.
- Fatigue.
- Loss of appetite and weight
loss.
- Abdominal pain.
- Itchy skin.
- Jaundice (a yellow discolouration in the skin
and eyes).
How is hepatitis A diagnosed?
Your doctor may have a feel of your liver from a physical examination and may also carry out a urine test which among other things looks for bilirubin and urobilinogen, if these levels are raised this could indicate the liver is damaged and a sign of liver disease (eg hepatitis,cirrhosis). If these levels are raised and/or the liver feels larger or harder than it should then your doctor may recommend a LFT (Liver Function Test) for more detailed results. A simple blood test is usually carried out to confirm
the presence of the hepatitis virus.
Can hepatitis A be prevented?
There is a vaccination available
to protect you from hepatitis A for 1 year, a booster can then be given
to protect you for up to 10 years. It is important to have the vaccination
if you are travelling to parts of the world with a high level of hepatitis
A (usually less developed areas such as Africa).
Ask your doctor for advice if you are at all worried about the virus.
Once you have had hepatitis A you will develop an immunity to the infection for the rest of your life.
Can hepatitis A be treated?
Hepatitis A usually runs its course within 2-8 weeks,
although some people can be ill for up to 6 months. The length of infection
is influenced by the age and general health of the affected person.
There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A, and it will usually
resolve itself. Bed rest, proper nutrition and avoiding alcohol are
usually recommended to relieve the symptoms.
What are the long-term effects of hepatitis A?
Most patients make a full recovery from hepatitis
A, this type of hepatitis virus is not a serious long-term health problem.
There is however, a small chance that hepatitis A will cause long-term
damage to your liver, but this is very rare. Once you have had hepatitis
A you will not be able to donate blood.
HEPATITIS B (back
to top)
What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is very common worldwide and is a very
infectious virus, that causes inflammation of the liver.
What causes hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is usually passed on through unprotected
penetrative sex, (where the penis enters the vagina, anus or mouth) or through sex which draws blood. It can also be passed on
through sharing contaminated needles, from an infected mother to her
baby or from a blood transfusion.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B can be a silent infection with no symptoms,
or it can result in acute hepatitis or chronic hepatitis. Acute means the illness usually only lasts a few weeks, and
the liver normally returns to normal. Chronic hepatitis B is a more
serious illness and it may last for the rest of your life and cause
permanent liver damage. Hepatitis B is called chronic when the illness
has lasted longer than 6 months.
The symptoms of acute hepatitis may include: -
- Fatigue.
- Loss of appetite.
- Flu like symptoms (headache and fever).
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Diarrhoea.
- Weight loss.
- Jaundice (dark urine and a yellowish tint to
the skin and eyes).
- Itchy skin.
Only a small percentage of people will go on to
develop chronic hepatitis and it can have a broad range of symptoms
or remain asymptomatic,
while other people may become extremely ill. Symptoms of chronic hepatitis
B may include: -
How is hepatitis B diagnosed?
Your doctor may have a feel of your liver from a physical examination and may also carry out a urine test which among other things looks for bilirubin and urobilinogen, if these levels are raised this could indicate the liver is damaged and a sign of liver disease (eg hepatitis,cirrhosis). If these levels are raised and/or the liver feels larger or harder than it should then your doctor may recommend a LFT (Liver Function Test) for more detailed results. Hepatitis B can be diagnosed with a simple blood test.
The blood test looks for the presence of the hepatitis B virus. If the
result of your blood test is positive, you may be referred to a specialist
for further tests. These tests are to find out how much hepatitis is
affecting your liver.
Can hepatitis B be prevented?
If your partner has hepatitis B a condom should
always be used when having sex to prevent them passing the virus on.
There is a vaccine available for people who are at a high risk of catching
hepatitis B.
Can
hepatitis B be treated?
Most people with acute hepatitis will recover and
will require no specific treatment, though bed rest and a good diet
is recommended. Those people who go on to develop chronic hepatitis
are more difficult to treat though some may benefit from a drug called
interferon. They will also need to be monitored regularly to detect
if any damage is occurring to their liver. If you have signs of severe
liver damage you may need to have a liver transplant.
If you are diagnosed as having hepatitis B you should
try to limit the amount of alcohol you drink and avoid fatty foods.
Most adults once recovered from the hepatitis B virus will develop a
life long immunity.
What are the long-term effects of hepatitis B?
In severe cases if a person remains infected with
the hepatitis B virus (chronic hepatitis) they may develop complications
such as liver cirrhosis (scarring, damage of the liver) or liver
cancer.
HEPATITIS C (back
to top)
What is hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C as the other 2 viruses is inflammation
of the liver.
Symptoms of hepatitis C can be easily confused with less serious illnesses.
Unfortunately the signs of liver damage may not occur for a couple of
decades and by the time the disease becomes apparent liver damage can
be considerable and even irreversible.
What causes hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is present in the blood of an infected
person. If infected blood enters another person’s blood stream,
that person may then catch the virus. The most common spread of hepatitis
C is through sharing needles and syringes. It may also be passed on
through sharing razor blades or from an infected person's blood coming
into contact with open cuts on another person. There is a very small
risk of catching hepatitis C during sex, the risk is greater during menstruation.
Another way of catching hepatitis C is through a blood transfusion in
a country where blood is not tested for the hepatitis C virus. All blood
in the U.K. is tested. On rare occasions hepatitis C can be passed on
from a infected mother to her baby at the time of birth.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis C?
Ther are 2 phases of hepatitis C infection, known
as acute and chronic. In many cases people infected with acute hepatitis
C may not become ill, others may experience the following symptoms:
-
- Flu like symptoms (fever).
- Poor appetite.
- Diarrhoea.
- Mild jaundice (dark urine,yellow skin).
When liver inflammation lasts more than 6 months
the illness is called chronic hepatitis C. The symptoms of chronic hepatitis
C may include: -
- Fatigue.
- Loss of appetite.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Soreness in the abdomen (under the ribs).
- Pain in the joints.
- Fever.
How is hepatitis C diagnosed?
A simple blood test will confirm if you are infected with
the hepatitis C virus. If the blood test is positive you may be referred
to a specialist for further tests. These tests are to find out how the
hepatitis virus is affecting your liver and could include, a liver scan
or liver biopsy.
Can hepatitis C be prevented?
At present there is no vaccine available to stop
infection with hepatitis C, though research is being carried out to
develop one. However, you can prevent infection with hepatitis C in
the following ways:-
- If you inject drugs, always use clean, sterile
needles and never share.
- Never share personal items, such as toothbrushes,
razors and nail scissors as these can all punture the skin and become
contaminated.
- Always clean blood up with bleach and using waterproof
gloves.
- Practice safe sex - always
use condoms.
Can hepatitis C be treated?
Some people with hepatitis C will get better on
their own. However, if you experience recurrent attacks you may be referred to a specialist who will run a number of
liver function tests. From the results of these investigations the specialist
can decide if you would benefit from treatment. The majority of people
with hepatitis C will not require treatment.
What are the long-term effects of hepatitis C?
People who have been infected may continue to carry
the virus in their blood and become long term or chronic carriers. It
is believed a low percentage of people will develop cirrhosis,
which is scarring of the liver, then after a few years some people with
cirrhosis may then go on to develop liver
cancer.
It is believed that carriers of hepatitis C remain
infectious throughout their lives and may be capable of spreading the
virus to others.
Because drinking makes hepatitis C worse, people
with hepatitis C should either seriously cut down on drinking alcohol or avoid alcohol entirely.
IF YOU ARE WORRIED THAT YOU MAY HAVE A HEPATITIS
VIRUS YOU SHOULD VISIT YOUR LOCAL G.U.M.
CLINIC OR DOCTOR FOR ADVICE AND IF NECESSARY FOR TREATMENT
Related topics
Alcoholic Liver Disease
Cirrhosis of the Liver
Gallstones
G.U.M.
CLINIC
Liver Cancer
Liver Function Test
Obstetric Cholestasis
What is the liver? |
