Hepatitis
is communicable disease caused by virus. In it there is an inflammation of the
liver causing jaundice.
Hepatitis is one of the communicable
pathogenic diseases as dangerous as that of AIDS.
According to National Academy of
Medical Science (NAMS), Bir Hospital said that about 2% of the population in Nepal is affected by
hepatitis i.e. about 6 lakhs of populations are infected by hepatitis. More of
the patient dies due to liver cirrhosis or cancer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that about 60,000 of the people are in chronic hepatitis condition in the world.
Symptoms:
Hepatitis in the early stages may cause fever, muscles aches, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, jaundice,
malaise (ill feeling), etc.
Children
with hepatitis of usually have mild symptoms or have no symptoms.
If
hepatitis progresses it affects the liver as the source of illness.
Chemicals
secreted by the infected liver may causes jaundice, foul breath, a bitter taste
in the mouth, dark or tea
coloured urine, white or light or clay-coloured stool, abdominal pain, liver
size swell up, etc.
Causative agent:
Hepatitis
is most commonly caused by three viruses such as-Hepatitis A virus (HAV),
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Hepatitis A
It is very common in children so called
infectious hepatitis caused by HAV. It can prolonged illness up to 6 months and
does not cause chronic liver disease.
Hepatitis B
It is also called serum hepatitis caused
by HBV. This disease can lead to
liver cancer
Hepatitis C
It is also called blood hepatitis
because can spread by direct
contact with an infected person's blood caused by HCV.
This virus also can lead to chronic liver disease.
Contagiousness:
Hepatitis
A, B
and C are all contagious. Hepatitis
A- Spread by contaminated food, water, milk, urine, etc.
In child care centers or schools,
toilets and sinks used by infected person should be cleaned with antiseptic cleansers.
Hepatitis
B- The virus of this
disease can be found in all body fluids therefore can spread
through sexual contact, contaminated blood transfusions and shared needles for
drug injections.
Frequent hand
washing and food hygiene practice can reduce the risk of infection.
Hepatitis
C- Can spread through
shared drug needles. It can spread from a mother to her foetus (during
pregnancy)
Incubation
period:
Incubation
period varies depending on which hepatitis virus causes the disease such
as
Hepatitis A- Incubation period is 2 to 6 weeks.
Hepatitis B- Incubation period is 4 to 20 weeks.
Hepatitis C- Incubation period is 2 to 26 weeks.
Hepatitis
A is usually active
for short period of time and once a person recover; he or she can no longer pass the virus to other people.
With
hepatitis B, 85% to 90% of the patients recover from their illness completely
within 6 months without long-term complications.
However
about 75% to 85% of hepatitis C patients do not recover completely and more
likely to continue to have a long term infection.
Some
people with hepatitis B and C may also become lifelong carriers of these
viruses and can spread them to other people.
Prevention Measures (Prophylaxis): |
- Follow good hygiene and avoid crowded, unhealthy
living conditions.
- Take extra care at the time of swimming or drinking.
- Take care where sanitation and water quality are
poor.
- Washing hand frequently before
eats.
- Use antiseptic cleansers to clean
toilet, sink, bedpan used by hepatitis patient.
- Use sterilized needles and
syringes.
- Education and advertisement about
impact of hepatitis are necessary.
- Vaccination of hepatitis.
Diagnosis:
All
the viral hepatitis is
diagnosed by blood tests.
Treatment:
Alfa-interferon,
Adefovir, Lamivudine etc are used as medicine for the treatment of hepatitis