Hepatitis C (HCV) is defined as inflammation of the liver, caused by a virus. The liver, because of its diversity, can be locally diffuse throughout the liver or it can manifest systemically (Osborn, Wraa, Watson and Hollaeran, 2014). It can be acute or chronic, mild or life threatening, depending on the type and duration of the infection. HCV has an incubation period of 35 to 72 days and replicates at a very high rate, mutating readily, which does not allow the host’s immune system to keep up and destroy the virus (Osborn, et al, 2014). Hepatitis C (HCV) virus is the most prevalent blood-blood infection in the United States: with over 4 million persons chronically infected. More than 80% of those infected go on to develop chronic HCV infection leading to many increased risks such as; liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), liver failure, and related morbidities (O’Brien, 2013). Morbidity and mortality rates remain high due to the fact that 45% to 85% of infected patients remain unaware of their HCV infection because of the asymptomatic nature of this disease process. HCV has a very slow disease progression, which lends to its high mortality rate when diagnosis is found after the liver is already beyond repair (O’Brien, 2013).
HCV used to be associated with injecting drug use, however, more times than not the person acquired the virus from a source other than drug use. Among the many risk factors include but are not limited to the following; “has injected drugs at any time in their lives (including anabolic steroids) using shared equipment, even if it was only once or twice, had a blood transfusion before September 1991 or received any blood products before 1986, has received medical or dental treatment abroad (in...
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...). Nursing Care Plans: Guidelines for individualizing patient care. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.
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O'Brien, S. (2013). The clinical importance of hepatitis C genotyping in the United States. MLO: Medical Laboratory Observer, 45(11), 16-17.
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Hepatitis is caused by a virus that is targeted at the liver, one of your most important organs!! Specifically, it causes inflammation and injury to the liver. Hepatitis comes in many different forms, five to be exact. There is Hepatitis A, B, C, D & E. Hepatitis is caused mainly by viruses, all of which are set on shutting down your liver. I will be specifically concentrating on Hepatitis A in this report. Hepatitis A is also known as infectious Hepatitis, an extremely contagious viral infection that often effects young children and young adults, especially those in large groups. It has been known to break out in schools, summer camps and music festivals etc.
Kanwal, F., Hoang, T., Kramer, J. R., Asch, S. M., Goetz, M. B., Zeringue, A., Richardson, P., & El-Serag, H. B. (2011). Increasing prevalence of HCC and cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Gastroenterology, 140(4), 1182-1188. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2010.12.032.
(Foster, 1998) The presence and severity of fatigue appears to correlate poorly with disease activity, although it may be more common and severe in HCV-infected individuals with cirrhosis. (Poynard, 2002a) Despite difficulties in separating fatigue symptoms associated with hepatitis C from those associated with other concurrent conditions (eg, anemia, depression), numerous studies have reported a reduction in fatigue after cure of HCV. (Bonkovsky, 2007) In the Virahep-C study, 401 HCV patients were evaluated for fatigue prior to treatment and after therapy using validated scales assessing presence and severity of fatigue. (Sarkar, 2012) At baseline, 52% of patients reported having fatigue, which was more frequent and severe in patients with cirrhosis than in those without cirrhosis. Achieving an SVR was associated with a substantial decrease in frequency and severity of fatigue. A recent analysis of 413 patients who achieved an SVR12 from the NEUTRINO and FUSION trials treated with a sofosbuvir-containing regimen demonstrated improvement in patient fatigue (present in 12%) from the pretreatment level. (Younossi, 2014) After achieving an SVR12, participants had marked improvement in fatigue over their pretreatment scores using 3 separate validated
As chronic viral hepatitis has a high prevalence in patients with HIV, clinicians should assess the risk of development of hepatotoxicity in these patients whenever HAART is initiated.7
HAV is known to be an infectious disease that usually occurs in children and young adults .The disease is usually transmitted from person to person through contaminated food, liquids or oral fecal route. An example would be when someone is carrying the virus and doesn’t wash their hands after using the restroom and then puts food in their mouth. HAV is most common in developing countries because of the living conditions and inadequate water, poor sewage facilities and sanitary conditions. The highest HAV levels in the world are from India,” Earlier reports suggest that India is hyperendemic for HAV infection2,4-6 with very high infection rates,” (Sowmyanarayanan). Most HAV are without severe complications, “Virus HAV infection rarely causes fulminant hepatic failure in people…,” (Vento,p.1) . The symptoms for HAV are high fever, nausea, vomiting and jaundice...
Hepatitis B is a DNA viral infection that causes damage and inflammation to the liver. It was first discovered in 1965 by Dr. Baruch Blumberg. The HBV virus is very contagious and is even thought to be the most serious form of viral hepatitis and the most common viral infection on Earth. “HBV is 100 times more infectious than HIV.” (Green, 2002, pg. 7) The virus can survive for about one week outside the body on a dry surface. According to Green (2002, pg. 7), “One in twenty Americans has been infected with the virus at some point in their lives.” Between the ages of 15-39 is when 75% of new HBV infections occur, according to Green (2002, pg.8).
The signs and symptoms of blood borne pathogens vary based on the type of disease it is and the ability of a person’s immune system to fight it off. In most cases hepatitis B does not need to be treated and the body can fight it off on its own. However a long-term infection can develop in some people that can cause liver damage. There is a vaccination available to prevent acquiring the disease. The signs and symptoms for hepatitis C are usually mild. It can take two weeks to six months after contact before signs begin to show, or there may not be any symptoms at all. Hepatitis C typically becomes is a long-term infection and after many years will cause liver ...
The HBV virus is transmitted through contact with contaminated blood or other body fluids such as serum, semen and salvia. The condition following the infection can either be classified as acute or chronic HBV.
“Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver.”("What Is Hepatitis?") There are three main types of hepatitis. These include hepatitis A, B, and C. These three types of hepatitis cause the most concern to medical staff due to their ability to spread and cause outbreaks. “Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that results from infection with the Hepatitis A virus.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) It can range from acute to chronic. An individual can become infected with hepatitis A if they eat or drink food or water that has been contaminated with the virus. Some common “sources of vitamin A include shellfish, fruits, vegetables, ice and water”. (U.S. National Library of Medicine. “Hepatitis A.”) Hepatitis B is a serious, endemic, worldwide disease that can occur at any age. (Wilkins 45) The hepatitis B virus causes hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B is transmitted though contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person. (U.S. National Library of Medicine. “Hepatitis B.”) Hepatitis C...
An estimated 242,251 Canadians, and 150 million people worldwide are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus, and more than 350 000 people die every year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases.1 Hepatitis C can lead to other serious diseases, such as liver failure, death, etc. But without any vaccines available to prevent the contraction of the disease, it may be hard to avoid. Due to disease generally being asymptomatic many people are unaware that they have it, further spreading the disease because of a lack of prevention mechanisms. Hepatitis C when developed chronically can cause serious affects on the liver, which may even lead to death. With hepatitis C being such a serious disease, it is important that more people be tested for it so they can start treatment in the early stages of the disease, as well as be aware and informed, before it becomes a chronic infection leading to serious complications.
There is no vaccine for HCV and vaccines of other forms of hepatitis do not
Hepatitis In modern society when a person gets sick with the flu or a cold they will usually go about their normal routine with the exception of a sneeze or a cough throughout the day. Sometimes things can be more than what they appear to be. The symptoms start out like the flu with coughing, fever, aches, and vomiting. However, the disease gradually worsens with symptoms of extreme weakness and excruciating abdominal pain. By then it is usually too late when the person finds out that their liver is failing and that there disease is caused by one of the most contagious, dangerous and deadliest of viruses. These viruses that were initially concealed by flu like symptoms are now known collectively as the disease of Hepatitis. The disease of Hepatitis is actually by six different types of viral infections, namely, Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, and G. Hepatitis descries the destructive affect of the viral invasion of the body and liver by six and separate viruses. Each type of viral infection varies from one to another in degree of severity. The names of the viruses are in alphabetical order corresponding to their discovery. There is also a non-viral Hepatitis which is caused by substance. One rumor that has spread about hepatitis is that a person can only contract Hepatitis if associated with HIV or AIDS. This is not true! Any one can become infected with Hepatitis. Unfortunately this is about all most people know of Hepatitis. They need to know the full horror of which the virus is capable. The first of the Hepatitis viral infection to be discovered is Hepatitis A. Hep. A is the mild mannered virus compared to the other viruses. It has the symptoms of influenza, fever, vomiting, loss of appetite, and weakening of body, but it does have some differences such as jaundice (a yellowing pigmentation of the skin and whites of the eyes) and urine appears to be a darker color. Jaundice is caused by an abundance of bilirubon which has not been removed from the blood system due to the infected liver. Hep. A does not have any special medications or antibiotics that can be used to treat or prevent this unpleasant virus. Some ways of avoiding this viral infection include washing the hands very carefully and not eating food or drink of others. People living in the same house or having close contact should clean the area very thoroughly.
There is a disease spreading out in the world called Hepatitis C. It affects the liver and may cause the liver to fail. This disease is caused by a virus called Hepatitis C virus which is also known as HCV. About 32,000 people are affected with this disease per year only in the United States area. Some It’s a disease with many symptoms and many causes. of these symptoms are easy bruising, upset stomach and fever. These are just some of the many symptoms that come from the virus. Hepatitis Cs nature of the causative agent is determined by many things. The biological data of this disease is filled so much information. It is estimated that over 180 million people have gotten Hepatitis C and it is growing.
Hepatitis B, an infectious disease caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV, a DNA virus), was formerly called serum hepatitis, inoculation hepatitis and post-transfusion hepatitis. Infection with HBV may result in acute, fulminant or chronic hepatitis, sometimes even resulting in a chronic asymptomatic carrier state, apart from hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis (Davis 179). The disease is transmitted when an individual comes in contact with infected blood or objects. It may also be transferred from an infected mother to her infant either during or after birth (Zuckerman et al. 211). Transmission may also occur by accidental inoculation from infected needles and hospital equipment, intravenous drug abuse, body piercing, tattooing, and mouth-mouth kissing (Zuckerman et al. 210). The risk of Hepatitis B is particularly high in individuals with multiple sex partners, and in homosexuals. The HBV virus occurs in morphologically different forms in the serum of infected individuals. HBV infection has an incubation period of about 75 days. Systemic symptoms of the disease include fatigue, fever, dyspepsia, arthralgia, malaise, and rash, while local symptoms include hepatomegaly, jaundice, dark urine, and pale stools (Davis 179; Zuckerman et al. 210).
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Autoimmune Hepatitis” Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. 1998-2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.