World Hepatitis Awareness Day: 10 Things To Know About the Disease
The Hepatitis Awareness Day, July 28, is an opportunity to raise public awareness and to highlight the solutions of screening and treatment of the disease. Less than 5% of patients worldwide are affected. Here you will find essential information about hepatitis. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can evolve to fibrosis, cirrhosis or cancer. It can occur due to alcohol abuse or consumption of certain drugs in cases of toxic hepatitis, however, it can also be a case of viral hepatitis. Today’s article is brought to you by our longtime supporters at Game Onstpete. Visit their site and discover the best arcade games ever made. We are grateful to everyone that has helped us in spreading awareness in the fight against Hepatitis.
Types of Hepatitis
There are 5 types of hepatitis virus responsible for the disease, identified by the letters A, B, C, D and E. In the origin of diseases of the liver, they spread the same way. Type B and C viruses lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people. Alone, they cause the most significant number of cirrhosis of the liver and cancers. Hepatitis B and C often spread during unprotected sex, injection of drugs or questionable medical practices. Symptoms of hepatitis B and C may not occur for years. 60% of liver cancers are due to late testing of viral hepatitis B or C. Here you can find the types of hepatitis and symptoms and what to do when you find out you’ve got hepatitis.
Mechanism of Hepatitis
After incubation, the acute phase of the disease is often asymptomatic (90% of cases). For others, the signs may be a pain in the liver, dark urine, nausea, vomiting and jaundice, which may last more than a month. After the first episode of the hepatitis C virus infection, the patient enters an acute phase. During this period, 80% of infected individuals experience no symptoms. After 6 months of infection, the patent goes to the chronic phase. The most common symptoms are loss of appetite, muscle and joint, pain, weight loss and fatigue, but also insomnia, nausea, vomiting, dark urine, gray stools and jaundice.
Epidemiology and prevention of Hepatitis
An estimated 257 million people are living with hepatitis B. In 2015; this disease caused 887,000 deaths. Moreover, 71 million people suffer from chronic hepatitis C, which causes approximately 399,000 deaths each year. The hepatitis B vaccine is effective in 95 percent and is effective long-term in preventing infection, the development of chronic diseases and liver cancer. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C, but antiviral drugs can cure up to 95 percent of the people infected in two to three months and reduce the risk of death from cancer and cirrhosis. Sometimes, the patient’s immune system eliminates the infection. Some people with chronic liver infection, however, remain spared frot the disease spreading further. The best prevention technique is to get tested, therefore do not hesitate to ask your doctor or general practitioner for guidance and advice.