Hepatitis B: What will happen to your body if you are infected
World Hepatitis Day (WHD) is marked every year on July 28 to help raise awareness of viral hepatitis and highlight the need for a more robust global response.
The date of July 28 was chosen, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), because it is the birthday of Nobel-prize winning scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and developed a diagnostic test and vaccine for it.
So what are the symptoms of hepatitis and can it be treated? Legit.ng highlights everything you need to know.
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General facts to know
The viral hepatitis B and C, according to WHO, affect 325m people worldwide causing 1.4 million deaths a year.
It is the second major killer infectious disease after tuberculosis, and nine times more people are infected with hepatitis than HIV.
WHO states that hepatitis is preventable, treatable, and in the case of hepatitis C, curable. However, over 80% of people living with hepatitis are lacking prevention, testing and treatment services.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is the term used to describe inflammation of the liver.
Causes of hepatitis
Hepatitis viruses are the most common cause of hepatitis in the world but other infections, toxic substances, and autoimmune diseases can also cause hepatitis.
There are several different types of hepatitis and while some will pass without any serious problems, others can be long-lasting and cause scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), loss of liver function and, in some cases, liver cancer.
Symptoms of hepatitis?
Short-term hepatitis often has no noticeable symptoms, so many people do not realise they have it. However, the symptoms, if they do develop, can include the following, according to the National Health Service (NHS):
1. Muscle and joint pain
2. High temperature
3. Feeling and being sick
4. Feeling unusually tired all the time
5. General sense of feeling unwell
6. Loss of appetite
7. Tummy pain
8. Dark urine
9. Pale, grey-coloured poo
10. Itchy skin
11. Yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice)
The NHS adds that long-term hepatitis also may not have any obvious symptoms until the liver stops working properly and may only be picked up during blood tests.
In the later stages it can cause jaundice, swelling in the legs, ankles and feet, confusion, and blood in stools or vomit.
Different types hepatitis
There are a number of different types of hepatitis including A, B, C, D, E, alcoholic and autoimmune.
You can get more information on the different types of hepatitis below:
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A, according to the NHS, is caused by the hepatitis A virus.
It is typically caught by consuming food and drink contaminated with the faeces of an infected person, and is most common in countries where sanitation is poor.
Hepatitis A usually passes within a few months, although it can occasionally be severe and even life threatening.
There is no specific treatment for it, other than to relieve symptoms like pain, nausea and itching.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is caused by the hepatitis B virus, which is spread in the blood of an infected person.
It is a common infection worldwide and is usually spread from infected pregnant women to their babies, or from child-to-child contact.
In rare cases, it can be spread through unprotected sex and injecting drugs.
Most adults infected with hepatitis B are able to fight off the virus and fully recover from the infection within a couple of months.
But most people infected as children develop a long-term infection. This is known as chronic hepatitis B and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Antiviral medication can be used to treat it.
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus. It is usually spread through blood-to-blood contact with an infected person.
Poor healthcare practices and unsafe medical injections are the main way it is spread.
Hepatitis C often causes no noticeable symptoms, or only flu-like symptoms, so many people are unaware they are infected.
Around 1 in 4 people will fight off the infection and be free of the virus. In the remaining cases, it will stay in the body for many years. This is known as chronic hepatitis C and can cause cirrhosis and liver failure.
Chronic hepatitis C can be treated with very effective antiviral medications, but there is currently no vaccine available.
Hepatitis D
Hepatitis D is caused by the hepatitis D virus. It only affects people who are already infected with hepatitis B, as it needs the hepatitis B virus to be able to survive in the body.
Hepatitis D is usually spread through blood-to-blood contact or sexual contact.
Long-term infection with hepatitis D and hepatitis B can increase the risk of developing serious problems, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
There is no vaccine specifically for hepatitis D, but the hepatitis B vaccine can help protect people from it.
Hepatitis E
According to the NHS, hepatitis E is caused by the hepatitis E virus. The virus has been mainly associated with the consumption of raw or undercooked pork meat or offal, but also with wild boar meat, venison and shellfish.
Hepatitis E is generally a mild and short-term infection that does not require any treatment, but it can be serious in some people, such as those who have a weakened immune system.
Alcoholic hepatitis
Alcoholic hepatitis is a type of hepatitis caused by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol over many years, the NHS states.
Alcoholic hepatitis does not usually cause any symptoms, although it can cause sudden jaundice and liver failure in some people.
Stopping drinking will usually allow the liver to recover, but there is a risk of eventually developing cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer if a person continues to drink alcohol excessively.
Autoimmune hepatitis
Autoimmune hepatitis is a rare cause of long-term hepatitis in which the immune system attacks and damages the liver, the NHS states.
Eventually, the liver can become so damaged that it stops working properly.
Treatment for autoimmune hepatitis involves very effective medicines that suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation.
It is not clear what causes autoimmune hepatitis and it is not known whether anything can be done to prevent it.
READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) alerted the public, especially healthcare providers, on the existence of fake Dukoral Oral Cholera vaccine circulating in Bangladesh.
According to a statement by the director-general of the agency, packaging of the falsified Dukoral vaccine displays texts in English and French language.
Mojisola Adeyeye said the WHO had quarantined some quantities of the falsified vaccine.
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