Viral hepatitis is a growing global concern as prevalence and mortality rates continue to rise and many worry it will be a pandemic that will possibly overtake HIV . With the introduction of the new drug regimens and the patterned stigmatization attached to Hepatitis C (HCV) transmission, which mirrors that of HIV, it is possible that we may be able to do for hepatitis what we have done for HIV. In 2010, there were 1.4 million deaths from Hepatitis B (HBV) and C, a number just shy of the number killed by HIV . Hepatitis is the 8th leading cause of death worldwide. In Asia, the combined infection rates for HBV and HCV are greater than 20% only further substantiating the claim that HCV is a significant health burden . HCV has been ignored by many of the global leaders in public health. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals’ focus has left HCV to be considered mainly as a co-infection with HIV, not as its own illness. This lack of visibility leads to a lack of funding. For example, Mongolia and Vietnam have HBV and HCV rates as high as 20% and HIV infection rates less than 0.5%, yet they have dedicated staff and programs for HIV, but not hepatitis . The World Health Organization (WHO) regional office for the Americas was even on the verge of dropping hepatitis from their 2014-2019 strategy due to lack of funding. There are those however offering solutions. The Global Commission on Drug Policy has called to divert resources from the war on drugs and other drug policies to fuel HCV treatment . This is a fitting proposal considering a common means of transmission of HCV is through injection drug use (IDU). Despite clear knowledge of this fact, on the local level within the State of Pennsylvania, needle exchange programs are c... ... middle of paper ... ...he Affordable Care Act, states had the option to expand their Medicare and Medicaid packages; however, some states chose to not opt in. Pennsylvania is one of those states. There has yet to be research on what this means to the future of HCV treatment, especially considering the demographics of who carries the largest burden of the disease, which still requires further exploration in Philadelphia. I hope to fill this gap in knowledge in order to better inform policy and prevention, treatment, and education programs. In order to properly address treatment and prevention gaps in hepatitis, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on understanding how those who are infected navigate the medical system. This includes how they acquire treatment, where they get support from, how providers interact with these patients and what the city is doing to monitor and track cases.
According to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, they have assessed the nation’s health system annually since 2003, reported that, in 2015 the health care delivery system has made progress to achieve the three aims of better care, smarter spending, and healthier people (City of White Plains Health Equity Report, 2017). However, they continue to promote health equality and reach the goal of New York State being the healthiest. But most importantly aiming to reduce or eliminate racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health
Deficient community health is related to lack of access to public health providers and limited resources (Ackley & Ladwig, 2014). According to the Center for Disease Control ‘the absence of health insurance coverage and distrust of Western medicine may contribute to low testing rates for Hepatitis B amount the Pacific Islanders. These same factors influence testing rates for other disparities too. Studies have shown health insurance coverage has increased compliance to medical treatment plans by making services, devices and medications more affordable (NHPI Affairs,
Ghosh, C. (2013). Affordable Care Act: Strategies to Tame the Future. Physician Executive, 39(6), 68-70.
Crowley, Ryan A., and William Golden. "Health Policy Basics: Medicaid Expansion." Annals Of Internal Medicine 160.6 (2014): 423-426. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of health care reform implementation in the state of Ohio. Throughout the paper, I will discuss if the health care reform has been effective as well as name some of the positive and negative outcomes. Furthermore, I will discuss how the health care reform is impacting community health. Discussion on the effect of health care reform on the economics in Ohio will conclude this paper.
State and local public health departments throughout the country have the responsibility for improving health in workplaces, schools, and communities through identifying top health problems within society and developing a plan to improve. Barriers the public health system has encountered over the years include: changes in the overall health system that support cost containment and improved health, and an increase in the number of individuals with insurance coverage for direct preventive services; reduction of qualified public health professional and funding at all levels of government; increasing focus on accountability, with higher expectations for demonstrating a return on investment in terms of cost and health improvement (Trust, 2013). In the near future, health departments ...
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).
“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,
As you exit the bus, another passenger next to you starts to cough, and then you hold the handrail as you exit the bus. Since you’re late getting home, you take a shortcut through a field to get home quicker. These three simple acts just exposed you to bacteria, viruses, and insects that could cause illness or even death. Infectious diseases, also known as communicable disease, are spread by germs. Germs are living things that are found in the air, in the soil, and in water. You can be exposed to germs in many ways, including touching, eating, drinking or breathing something that contains a germ. Animal and insect bites can also spread germs.1
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).
The liver plays central role in each of these phases of clotting process, as it synthesizes the majority of coagulation factors and proteins involved in fibrinolysis as well as thrombopoietin., which is responsible for platelet production from megakaryocytes. In cirrhosis, liver is badly get damaged. So the production of coagulation factors and proteins is impaired. Many pathological processes associated with cirrhosis, such as portal hypertension and endothelial dysfunction as well as co-morbid conditions, may also alter the coagulation process. Consequently, patients with liver disease as in cirrhosis, have a disturbed balance of procoagulant and anti- coagulant factors which deviates from the normal coagulation cascade.
Barton, P.L. (2010). Understanding the U.S. health services system. (4th ed). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
There are many diseases that fit into each of the four categories, if not one category, maybe two or more.