“Hepatitis” means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis is also the name of a family of viral infections that affect the liver; the most common types are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. These diseases caused by three different viruses. Although each can cause similar symptoms, they have different modes of transmission and can affect the liver differently. Hepatitis A appears only as an acute or newly occurring infection and does not become chronic. People with Hepatitis A usually improve without treatment. Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C can also begin as acute infections, but in some people, the virus remains in the body, resulting in chronic disease and long-term liver problems.
Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is a major global health problem. It can cause chronic infection and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer. Chronic HBV can lead to scarring of the liver, liver failure, or liver cancer. You can have hepatitis B and not know it. You may not have symptoms. If you do, they can make you feel like you have the flu. But as long as you have the virus, you can spread it to others.
Hepatitis B is also spread by exposure to infected blood and various body fluids, as well as through saliva, menstrual, vaginal, and seminal fluids. Hepatitis B is usually spread when blood, semen, or another body fluid from a person infected with the Hepatitis B virus enters the body of someone who is not infected. This can happen through sexual contact with an infected person or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug-injection equipment. Hepatitis B can also be passed from an infected mother to her baby at birth.
Acute Hepatitis B virus infection is a short-term illness that occurs within the first 6 months after someone is exposed to the Hepatitis B virus. Acute infection can — but does not always — lead to chronic infection.
Chronic Hepatitis B virus infection is a long-term illness that occurs when the Hepatitis B virus remains in a person’s body.
The hepatitis B virus can survive outside the body for at least 7 days. During this time, the virus can still cause infection if it enters the body of a person who is not protected by the vaccine. The incubation period of the hepatitis B virus is 75 days on average, but can vary from 30 to 180 days. The virus may be detected within 30 to 60 days after infection and can persist and develop into chronic hepatitis B. Toxins, certain drugs, some diseases, heavy alcohol use, and bacterial and viral infections can all cause hepatitis
There are vaccines to prevent Hepatitis A and B; however, there is not one for Hepatitis C. If a person has had one type of viral hepatitis in the past, it is still possible to get the other types. Approximately 350 million individuals in the world and one million in the United States are chronically infected with hepatitis B.
Symptoms
Most people do not experience any symptoms during the acute infection phase.
Symptoms include
- Feeling very tired
- Mild fever
- Headache
- Not wanting to eat.
- Feeling sick to your stomach or vomiting.
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Muscle aches and joint pain
- Skin rash
- Yellowish eyes and skin (jaundice). Jaundice usually appears only after other symptoms have started to go away.
Test options
Hepatitis B: Identification of Hepatitis B Virus
Learn more about Hepatitis B
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/
http://www.medicinenet.com/hepatitis_b/article.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hepatitisb.html
