Introduction:
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.
Hepatitis A is also very common in developing nations. Outbreaks occur due to unsanitary conditions such as contamination of the food and water supply.
The Liver: The liver is an organ which is located upper right part of your abdomen. It has one main function. This function is to clean out your blood. How this happens is from your inferior venacava, there is a group if veins called the mesenteric veins. They branch off and take dirty blood to your liver to be cleaned. Now, when the virus moves in and stops the liver from doing its job, just imagine all the toxins and unwanted waste and chemicals that build up in your body.!!
Causes: Hepatitis A is transmitted almost always by the fecal oral route. It is spread by close personal contact with fecally contaminated water supplies, fruits and vegetables. Poor personal hygiene promotes spread of the virus as well which is why the incidence of Hepatitis is higher in developing nations, where poor sanitary conditions exist. It can also be transmitted by raw or partially cooked clams from contaminated water.
Properties of the virus: The hepatitis A virus is a non - enveloped 27 nano meters in size, virus. It is characterized as a RNA based virus. Inactivation of viral activity can be achieved by heating to 100 °C for five minutes, and by contact with formaldehyde and chlorine or by ultraviolet irradiation. The virus is present in the liver, bile, stool and blood during the illness.
Symptoms: The symptoms of viral hepatitis are not very pretty. Getting Hepatitis is not a fun experience. The first symptoms of Hepatitis A are mild and vague. They generally appear from about 2 weeks to 6 months after ex...
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...me up with a new vaccine against Hepatitis A called Havrix.
I know about this because last year, before my family and I went on a trip to India, we all got vaccinated against Hepatitis A with Havrix. None of the books from which I researched had any thing about Havrix because they were not that up to date.
Prognosis:
In most cases of infectious Hepatitis, previously healthy people fully recover with in 2 - 6 weeks. Patients in old age or people with serious underlying disorders such as heart failure, Anemia, diabetes, cancer etc. have a much longer recovery period and are more likely to develop a much worse case of the infection and have a poorer prognosis. However, the over all mortality rate of Hepatitis A is less than 1 percent.
Bibliography:
1) Principles Of internal Medicine, Isselbacher, Adams, Braunwald, Petersdorf, Wilson, Mc Graw Hill 1978
2) Medical diagnosis & Treatment, Marcus A. Krupp, Milton J. Chatton,
1980
3) Principals and practice of medicine, Harvey, Johns, Mckusick, Owens, Ross, Appleton - Century - Crofts 1979.
4) Medical & health Encyclopedia, Sidney S. Schipper, Round the world books, 1988
5) World Book Encyclopedia, 1992
“Improved sanitation, food safety and immunization are the most effective ways to combat hepatitis A.” (World Health Organization, 2017) Good hand hygiene is essential in preventing the spread of Hepatitis A. Proper sewage disposal systems are also important in prevention of Hepatitis A within communities. If a person is traveling to an area where hepatitis A is prevalent, they should avoid ingesting water and uncooked fruits and vegetables. Another important way to prevent Hepatitis A is immunization. A vaccine for Hepatitis A has been available in the US since 1996. Commonly children will become immunized between the age of 12 to 23 months, however an adult can also be vaccinated at any time. Traveling out of the country, using illegal drugs, homosexual men, and anyone who comes in contact with an infected person or animal are recommended to be immunized. The final way Hepatitis A can be prevented is with immune globulin. Blood from an already immune person will be injected into another person giving the recipient protective antibodies. Immune globulin will protect a person from exposure to Hepatitis A for 2 weeks. (Center for Disease Control,
Every day many species are slowly becoming either endangered or extinct and recently an endangered bird species called piping plovers, started nesting on Revere Beach. What would seem as a miraculous discovery, many are averse to their new inhabitants on the beach. Many Revere residents are complaining because the piping plovers now occupy parts of “their” beach. But in the article “Revere Beach should welcome the piping plover” The Editorial Board believes that the presence of the piping plover could be greatly beneficial to the city of Revere and I certainly agree. What led me to select this particular article is my concern for the many endangered species in the world like the piping plover. Human hands have led many species to become endangered
Piping plovers are small shorebirds that usually lives on sandy beach and is considered to be endangered. It has a pale color that blend perfectly with dry beach sand. During the spring and summer, it appears to have a single black neckband and a narrow black band across its forehead. The plover’s bills and legs are yellowish but their bills have a black tip. During their flight its rump is white in color. The sexes appear similar, in both their size and color. During the winter, their legs and bill gets darker. Piping plovers are seen in small flocks or singularly.
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a virus that leads to infection of the liver. Infection of the HBV can be acute or lifelong (chronic). Humans are the only known host for HBV (CSC, 2017). This virus can survive on environmental surfaces for up to seven days (WHO, 2017).
There are some simple blood tests (secondary prevention) such as Hepatitis B Surface Antigen, and (HBSAG), and Hepatitis B Surface Antibody (HBSAB) to find out if you have been infected. There is a safe and effective vaccine such as vaccine interferon alpha, recommended for newborns, infants, and teens, provides immunity for at least five years. In addition to vaccination (primary prevention), there are other simple ways to stop the spread of Hepatitis B. These are a few examples: first avoid direct contact with blood and bodily fluids, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after any potential exposure to blood. You also need to discard soiled items carefully into bags, avoid sharing items such as razors, nail clippers, toothbrushes, and earrings or body rings. In my opinion the most important prevention is to practice safe sex, and making sure new or sterile...
Hepatitis A virus, until 1 week after onset of illness or as directed by the health department when passive immunoprophylaxis (currently, immune serum globulin) has been administered to appropriate children and staff and a licensed physician states in writing the child may
The Piping Plover is a small, endangered bird. It is otherwise known as the Charadrius Melodus (ES: Piping Plover). It lives, and breeds along the Atlantic coast of Canada, but usually around the Great Lakes, in Canada and the U.S.A (Piping Plover Page). Recently, it has been found in the Wasaga Beach area (Springwater News). This bird has not been seen in this area since 1978, so an area of Beach 1, where the Nottawasaga River enters Nottawasaga Bay was fenced off, and could remain closed until July (Springwater News). It also lives in and around Alberta (ES: Piping Plover). These birds generally live on or close to beaches and lakes, usually places with water. This bird generally likes to be around places with sand, like beaches, because it can blend easily. The bird has a back that is sandy brown in colour, so predators can’t see it (Piping Plover Page). They are constantly losing their habitat to buildings, pollution of lakes and ponds, and clearing of forests.
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 ...
“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...
There are a number of ways that the current treatment for hepatitis C could improved. In the future researchers aim to develop a more effective, safe and well-tolerated interferon therapy. They have also created a new vaccine technology that has been tested in mice for its therapeutic efficiency against the most conserved regions of the hepatitis genome. They hope to eventually develop drugs that target the hepatitis C RNA-dependant RNA polymerase enzyme, which is responsible for the replication of the entire hepatitis C genome, and prevent the replication of the hepatitis C virus directly.9 Although hepatitis C is a very serious disease of the liver, technologies and medications have been proven to be effective in many chronically infected persons with hepatitis C virus.
What is hepatic cirrhosis? According to the medical dictionary hepatic cirrhosis is when scar tissue replaces the liver’s healthy tissue. This disease changes the structure of the liver and blood vessels that nurture it. It reduces the liver’s capability to produce proteins and process hormones, nutrients, medications, and poisons. Cirrhosis is an illness that gets worse over time and possibly can become life threatening. This serious illness is ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S. It is the third most common cause of death for adults between 45 and 65 years of age. It occurs in more than fifty percent of undernourished chronic alcoholics. Unfortunately it kills about 35,000 people per year. In other country’s such as Africa and Asia death from cirrhosis is usually caused by hepatitis B.
"Hepatitis C: MedlinePlus." National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. .
HBV infection is complex and affects a large population worldwide. The discovery of the Australia antigen (HBsAg) in 1965 by Blumberg et al. (1965) set the stage for rapid progress in understanding and counteracting the disease (qtd in Zuckerman et al. 210). Liver function tests help in estimating the extent of damage caused to the liver during HBV infection. Diagnosis is done by detecting viral specific antigens in the serum. Both active and passive immunization options exist for disease prophylaxis. However, it is always best to practice caution over the parenteral, sexual and other routes of transmission of the disease for effective disease prevention and prophylaxis.