Hepatitis B: Overview, Mode of Transmission, Signs& symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

Hepatitis B

  What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a DNA virus that belongs to a family of virus called Hepadnaviridae. The virus is found in the liver but it also present in other part of the body, the blood and some other body fluids.
Hepatitis B is a virus that majorly affects the multi-functional organ called  liver . . Exposed adult can have a less problematic hepatitis B infection, those who are infected with the virus can get better with time without any major damage or problems to the body. However the virus if allowed to manifest in the body will develop into a long term infection known as  chronic hepatitis B and as it progresses it damages the liver. Hepatitis B in infected people does not often have symptoms, it mostly presents itself in form of flu, infants, Babies and young children infected with the virus are more likely to get chronic hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Worldwide estimate of over 2 billion people have evidence of current or past hepatitis B infection, including more than 250 million chronic carriers and more than 600,000 deaths worldwide each year.

Hepatitis B is grouped into to major categories according to the severity of the infection.
What is Acute Hepatitis B?
Acute hepatitis B falls to the newly acquired  Hepatitis infections. Individuals affected with the virus notice symptoms approximately 1 to 4 months after exposure to the virus. However  majority of people with acute hepatitis, symptoms resolve over weeks to months and they are cured of the infection. While a significantly smaller number of people develop  a form of acute hepatitis called fulminant hepatitis which is severe and life threatening and can be potentially fatal.
What is chronic Hepatitis B?
The Chronic hepatitis B infection is the type of infection that lasts longer than 6 months. Infected adults have  a high chance of fighting the infection and is latter cleared.  Children are at higher risk of life threatening chronic infection. Once the infection becomes chronic, it may never go away completely in both adult and children.


High risk individuals who can be infected with hepatitis B virus include the following:
Men or women with multiple sex partners.
Men who have sex with men
A person who have unprotected sex with infected individuals with hepatitis B virus
People with other sexually transmitted diseases
People with HIV or hepatitis C
IDU’s (Intravenous drug users ) people who inject drugs with shared needles
People who undergo dialysis for kidney disease
Health care workers who are contaminated with infected blood
Infants born to infected mothers
Travellers who visits areas of the world where hepatitis B is common

Common signs & symptoms of hepatitis B include:
Appetite loss
Feeling tired ( fatigue )
Itching all over the body
Pain over the location of the liver (on the right side of the abdomen, under the lower rib cage)
Dark urine
Pale-colored stools
fever
nausea
vomiting
extreme fatigue
loss of appetite
joint pain
muscle soreness
jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).

How is Hepatitis B transmitted to The body?
The hepatitis B virus can survive outside the body for at least 7 days. The virus can still cause infection if it enters the body of a person who is not protected by the Hepatitis B vaccine. The virus has an incubation period of  75 days on average, however this varies from about 30 to 180 days. The virus may be detected within 30 to 60 days after infection.
How do people get hepatitis B virus?
Infection can happen:
When an infected mother gives birth
During unprotected sexual activity with an infected individual
Sharing needles, syringes that is infected
Sharing of sharp objects such as razor blades or toothbrushes
Transfusion of infected blood or blood products
Through infected body fluids

Diagnosis of Hepatitis B.
Mere clinical evaluations is not enough for the diagnosis of hepatitis B. Laboratory test is the most preferred method of diagnosis. The diagnosis of hepatitis B infection focuses on picking up of the hepatitis B  antigen HBsAg and immunoglobulin M (IgM). The persistence of HBsAg is the principal marker of risk for developing chronic liver disease and potential liver cancer. For chronic cases, a liver biopsy may be needed. A biopsy is the removal of a sample of liver tissue for testing.
 

Hepatitis B Treatment
Hepatitis B symptoms can be treated with medications, this is to reduce the activity and replication of the virus.
Medications include:
Interferon alfa-2b (Intron A) injection
Lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) oral medication
Tenofovir or entecavir, because these are the most potent drugs to suppress hepatitis B virus. They rarely lead to drug resistance as compared with other drugs, are simple to take (1 pill a day), and have few side effects so require only limited monitoring. virus cause liver injury? (World Health Organization recommendation)

Prevention
Chronic hepatitis B patients should avoid anything that can furtherdamage the liver, such as alcohol, certain medications, dietary supplements, and herbs.The vaccination for hepatitis B is one vital step to The prevention of The virus.