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Viral hepatitis (hepatitis) is an infection that causes acute liver disease. Hepatitis is a real silent killer - the symptoms of the disease do not go away for a long time. Viral hepatitis (viral hepatitis) is the eighth cause of death in the world. What are the causes and symptoms of viral hepatitis? How can you get infected? What tests do you need to do? What is the treatment?

Viral hepatitis(Hepatitis) is a group of infectious inflammatory diseases of the liver characterized by liver damage caused by hepatotropic viruses (hepatitis viruses). There are several types of viruses that cause various forms andsymptomsviral hepatitis, the most common are:

  • hepatitis A (hepatitis A), formerly known as chronic hepatitis or food jaundice
  • hepatitis B (hepatitis B), formerly referred to as jaundice
  • hepatitis C (hepatitis C), formerly referred to as jaundice C
  • hepatitis D - the disease is caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV)
  • hepatitis E - the disease is caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV)
  • hepatitis G - the disease is caused by the hepatitis G virus (HGV)​​

Hepatitis A (hepatitis A)

Viral hepatitistype A (hepatitis A, erroneously food jaundice) is an acute, inflammatory disease of the liver parenchyma caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV).

How do you get infected?

About 95 percent cases of infection occur through the alimentary (fecal-oral) route through consumption of:

  • water (also in the form of ice cubes) contaminated
  • food, e.g. vegetables or fruit or fish washed in contaminated water, seafood from contaminated water

Symptoms of hepatitis A infection

In the preview phase, non-specific predictive ailments occur in the form of:

  • general malaise
  • usually mild fever
  • joint and muscle pains
  • lack of appetite
  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • olfactory and taste disorders (typical nicotine aversion)

Acute phase, more markedsymptoms specific to liver diseases in the form of:

  • darkened urine
  • pain in the right hypochondrium
  • yellowing of proteins and skin integuments
  • stool discoloration

There are also atypical forms of the disease: cholestatic and recurrent hepatitis A. In the cholestatic form, the course of the disease is particularly long, and the clinical picture is dominated by the features of cholestasis (skin pruritus, long-lasting jaundice, stool acholia, biochemical markers of bile stasis) . Recurrent hepatitis A is characterized by two to several episodes of jaundice or asymptomatic.

Treatment

The typical form of the disease goes away on its own in up to 6 months. There is no drug that would accelerate the elimination of the virus from the body.

Prevention

Vaccination is the only effective way to prevent hepatitis A. You should also take care of personal hygiene.

Hepatitis A

Prof. Alicja Wiercińska-Drapało from the Department of Hepatology and Acquired Immunodeficiency of the Medical University of Warsaw on viral hepatitis A.

Source: youtube.com/ Yellow Week

Hepatitis B (hepatitis B)

Hepatitis B (hepatitis B, mistakenly implanted jaundice) is an acute, inflammatory disease of the liver parenchyma caused by the hepatitis B virus (HAV).

How do you get infected?

There are 3 ways of HBV infection:

  • parenteral (mainly through blood)
  • gender
  • perinatal (from mother to child in labor)

Hepatitis B virus is only transmitted from person to person.

Hepatitis B symptoms

The signs of acute hepatitis B are not specific and resemble flu symptoms. Symptoms of the advanced form of the disease are jaundice - yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin (this condition is a result of elevated levels of bilirubin in the blood), pale, discolored stools, beer-colored urine, pain in the right hypochondrium, enlarged liver and enlarged spleen.

Treatment

About 90 percent patients with hepatitis B infection can be cured. - The group of 10 percent of patients who develop the infection into a chronic disease remains a problem. The disease caused by the oncogenic virus B is primary liver cancer. HBV can also lead to cirrhosis of the liver.

Prevention

Vaccination is the only effective way to prevent hepatitis B disease.

Hepatitis B

Viralhepatitis B is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world. It is called the "silent killer" because it is asymptomatic and we usually find out about it by accident. Doctors urge people to get vaccinated against hepatitis B.

Hepatitis C (hepatitis C)

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the Hepatitis C Virus, HCV for short. It was discovered recently - in 1989. It comes in 6 varieties, called genotypes. In the world, as in Poland, infections with genotype 1 dominate (in our case it is 90% of cases), followed by 2 and 3.

HCV is a small, single-stranded virus related to the yellow fever virus. It is sensitive to high temperatures and formalin (often used for disinfection). Its strength lies in its rapid mutations, which allows it to successfully deceive the immune system and spread throughout the liver cells with impunity. It belongs to the group of primary hepatotropic viruses, i.e. viruses aimed at attacking liver cells and hepatitis.

How do you get infected?

The main risk factor for infection is contacts with the he alth service. Until recently, HCV infection was called post-transfusion. The problem seemed to be gone with the introduction of strict blood donation controls. It didn't. For 80 percent HCV infections in Poland still correspond to he alth care facilities! The transmission (transmission) of infection occurs mainly as a result of carelessly performed minor medical procedures, e.g. blood tests, endoscopic or dental procedures. The underlying cause of these infections is non-compliance with sanitary procedures by medical workers. The remaining 20 percent. infections are the result of intravenous drug addiction and beauty treatments (piercings, tattoos). The risk of sexual transmission is low (approx. 0.9%)

Hepatitis C symptoms

A very rare symptom of infection is yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, therefore associating hepatitis C with jaundice is a mistake. Usually, the disease is asymptomatic for many years, until symptoms of liver failure appear.

Treatment

Currently, doctors have drugs that allow to completely eliminate hepatitis C. The latest form of treatment without interferon, which has been available in Poland since July 1, 2015, increases the chances of patients recovering to 90-100%. In addition, these drugs have no side effects and work much faster than previously used.

Prevention

There is no vaccine againstHepatitis C.

Up to 95 percent sick Poles are not aware of hepatitis C

infection

According to the Polish Group of HCV Experts, up to 95 percent sick Poles are not aware of the infection, because the disease may not give any symptoms for the first dozen or so years. Due to the initial lack of symptoms, 90 percent of patients, the detection of infection is accidental. If the disease is diagnosed only at the stage of cirrhosis, treatment is very difficult and the prognosis is poor.

Source: lifestyle.newseria.pl

Hepatitis D (hepatitis D)

Hepatitis D does not occur alone, but only in the presence of hepatitis B. So you can get infected with both viruses at the same time or you can multiply (superinfection) hepatitis D in a person already infected with hepatitis B. Risk factors and methods of infection prevention are the same as for hepatitis B.

Hepatitis E (hepatitis E)

Hepatitis E is a disease that occurs all over the world, but is most common in parts of East and South Asia. The risk of infection occurs mainly in areas with a low level of hygiene.

How can you get infected? Infection occurs through the consumption of contaminated water or food, the main reservoir of pathogens are domestic animals, e.g. pigs.

Prevention: improving sanitation, food and water safety, avoiding drinking water from an unknown source. The first vaccine against hepatitis E was registered in 2011. in China, however, it is not available worldwide.

Hepatitis G (hepatitis G)

Hepatitis G virus (GB-C virus, GBV-C, HGV) was discovered in 1995. The virus is common around the globe and infection can be associated with hepatitis, cirrhosis, and possibly primary cancer liver.

How can you get infected? The virus is known to be transmitted through sexual contact, and G virus has been proven to be parenteral, and vertical infection is possible in children. Another reason is the medical activities related to their hospital stays, e.g. through blood transfusions.

According to some studies, people with a combination of HIV and GBV-C have a higher survival and a longer life expectancy than others with HIV, but at this stage of research it is difficult to say whether this is directly caused by the presence of the virus GBV-C, or is it just a matter of a few individual cases, where only the predisposition of infected organisms could have caused greater persistence.

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