Hepatitis

Hamza Salah

Khalid Hammad

This research was prepared as partial fulfillment of the requirements for English 1

Autumn 2014

Jerusalem

University College

Destinations

– Liver

– Hepatitis

– Transmitted by

– Hepatitis B

– People who may be at risk of hepatitis B

– Symptoms

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– Exams and Tests

– Treatment

– Outlook (Prognosis)

– When to Contact a Medical Professional

– Prevention

– References

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Liver is the largest organ inside your body. It

helps your body digest food, store energy, and

remove poisons. Hepatitis is an inflammation of

the liver.

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These five types are of greatest concern because

of the burden of illness and death they cause and

the potential for outbreaks and epidemic spread. In

particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in

hundreds of millions of people and, together, are

the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and

cancer.

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Common modes of transmission for these viruses

include receipt of contaminated blood or blood

products, invasive medical procedures using

contaminated equipment and for hepatitis B

transmission from mother to baby at birth, from

family member to child, and also by sexual contact.

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• Have unprotected sex with an infected partner

• Receive blood transfusions (not common in the United States)

• Have contact with blood at work (such as health care workers)

• Have been on long-term kidney dialysis

• Get a tattoo or acupuncture with unclean needles

• Share needles during drug use

• Share personal items (such as toothbrush, razor, and nail clippers)

with a person who has the virus

• Were born to a hepatitis-B infected mother.

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It is not always clear which patients with chronic

hepatitis B should receive drug therapy and when drug

therapy should be started. You are more likely to receive

these medicines if:

• Your liver function is quickly becoming worse

• You develop symptoms of long-term liver damage

• You have high levels of the hepatitis B virus in your

blood.

For these medicines to work best, you need to take

them as instructed by your health care provider. Ask

what side effects you can expect and what to do if you

have them. Not everybody who needs to take these

medicines responds well.

If you develop liver failure, you may receive a liver

transplant. A liver transplant is the only cure in some

cases of liver failure.

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Other steps you can take:

• Avoid alcohol.

• Check with your doctor or nurse before taking any

over-the-counter medications or herbal

supplements. This includes medications such as

acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen.

• Severe liver damage, or cirrhosis, can be caused by

hepatitis B.

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The acute illness usually goes away after 2 to 3 weeks.

The liver usually returns to normal within 4 to 6 months in

most people.

Almost all newborns and about half of children who get

hepatitis B develop the chronic condition. Very few adults

who get the virus develop chronic hepatitis B.

About 1 in 100 people who get hepatitis B dies from the

condition. There is a much higher rate of liver cancer in

people who have chronic hepatitis B. 21

Call your doctor if:

• You develop symptoms of hepatitis B

• Hepatitis B symptoms do not go away in 2 to 3

weeks, or new symptoms develop

• You belong to a high-risk group for hepatitis B and

have not had the HBV vaccine

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• Children and people at high risk for hepatitis B should

get the hepatitis B vaccine.

• Babies should get a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine

at birth. They should have all three shots in the series

by age 6 months.

• Children younger than age 19 who have not had the

vaccine should get "catch-up" doses.

• Health care workers and those who live with someone

who has hepatitis B should get the vaccine. 23

• Infants born to mothers who have acute hepatitis B or

have had the infection in the past should get a special

hepatitis B vaccine within 12 hours of birth.

• All blood used for blood transfusions is screened, so the

chance of getting the virus in this way is very small.

• The hepatitis B vaccine or a hepatitis immune globulin

(HBIG) shot may help prevent infection if you receive it

within 24 hours of contact with the virus.

• Measures to avoid contact with blood and body

fluids can help prevent the spread of hepatitis B from

person-to-person. 24

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recommended

adult immunization schedule – United States

• Dienstag JL. Hepatitis B virus infection.

• Perrillo R. Hepatitis B and D

• http://www.webmd.com/

• Wikipedia

• Nucleus medical media

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