What is hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. In time, it can lead to permanent liver damage as well as cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure.

Many people do not know that they have hepatitis C until they already have some liver damage. This can take many years. Some people who get hepatitis C have it for a short time and then get better. This is called acute hepatitis C. But most people who are infected with the virus go on to develop long-term, or chronic, hepatitis C.

Although hepatitis C can be very serious, many people can manage the disease and lead active, full lives.

What causes hepatitis C infection?
Hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus. It is spread from one person's infected blood to another person's blood.

You can get hepatitis C if:

You share needles and other equipment used to inject illegal drugs. This is the most common way to get hepatitis C in the United States.
You had a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992. As of 1992 in the United States, all donated blood and organs are screened for hepatitis C.
You get a shot with a needle that has infected blood on it. This happens in some developing countries where they use needles more than once when giving shots.
In rare cases, a mother with hepatitis C spreads the virus to her baby at birth, or a health care worker is accidentally exposed to blood that is infected with hepatitis C.

Experts are not sure if you can get hepatitis C through sexual contact. If there is a risk of getting the virus through sexual contact, it is very small.

You cannot get hepatitis C from casual contact such as hugging, kissing, sneezing, coughing, or sharing food or drink.

What are the symptoms?
Many people have no symptoms when they are first infected with the hepatitis C virus. If you do develop symptoms, they may include:

Feeling very tired.
Joint pain.
Belly pain.
Itchy skin.
Sore muscles.
Dark urine.
Yellowish eyes and skin (jaundice). Jaundice usually appears only after other symptoms have started to go away.
Most people go on to develop chronic hepatitis C but still do not have symptoms. This makes it common for people to have hepatitis C for 15 years or longer before it is diagnosed.

How is hepatitis C diagnosed?
Many people find out that they have the virus by accident, when their blood is tested before a blood donation or as part of a regular checkup. Often, people with hepatitis will have high levels of liver enzymes in their blood.

If your doctor thinks you may have hepatitis C, he or she will talk to you about having a blood test. If the test shows hepatitis C antibodies, you have had hepatitis C at some point. A second test can tell if you have hepatitis C now.

When blood tests show that you have hepatitis C, you may need a liver biopsy to see if the virus has caused scarring in your liver. During a liver biopsy, a doctor will insert a needle between your ribs to collect a small sample of liver tissue to look at under a microscope.

Some people prefer to find out on their own if they have been exposed to hepatitis C. You can buy a home test called a Home Access Hepatitis C Check kit at most drugstores. If the test shows that you have been exposed to the virus in the past, be sure to talk to your doctor to find out if you have the virus now.

How is it treated?
You and your doctor need to decide if you should take antiviral medicine to treat hepatitis C. It may not be right for everyone. If your liver damage is mild, you may not need medicine.

If you do take medicine, the best treatment is a combination of two medicines that fight infection: peginterferon and ribavirin. How well these medicines work depends on how damaged your liver is, how much virus you have in your liver, and what type of hepatitis C you have.

Taking care of yourself is an important part of the treatment for hepatitis C. Some people with hepatitis C do not notice a change in the way they feel. Others feel tired, sick, or depressed. You may feel better if you exercise and eat healthy foods. To help prevent further liver damage, avoid alcohol and illegal drugs and certain medicines that can be hard on your liver.


What is hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a liver infection caused by a virus. It goes away on its own in almost all cases. Hepatitis A does not lead to long-term liver problems.

Other forms of the virus (hepatitis B and hepatitis C) also cause hepatitis. Hepatitis A is the most common type.

How is hepatitis A spread?
The disease is caused by the hepatitis A virus. The virus is found in the stool of an infected person. It is spread when a person eats food or drinks water that has come in contact with infected stool.

Sometimes a group of people who eat at the same restaurant can get hepatitis A. This can happen when an employee with hepatitis A doesn't wash his or her hands well after using the bathroom and then prepares food.

The disease can also spread in day care centers. Workers can spread the virus if they don't wash their hands well after changing a diaper.

Some things can raise your risk of getting hepatitis A, such as eating raw oysters or undercooked clams. If you're traveling in a country where hepatitis A is common, you can lower your chances of getting the disease by avoiding uncooked foods and tap water.

What are the symptoms?
After you have been exposed to the virus, it can take from 2 to 7 weeks before you see any signs of it. Symptoms usually last for about 2 months.

Common symptoms are:

Feeling very tired.
Feeling sick to your stomach.
Not feeling hungry.
Losing weight without trying.
Pain on the right side of the belly, under the rib cage (where your liver is).
A fever.
Sore muscles.
Older people with hepatitis A may get yellow skin (jaundice), along with dark urine and clay-colored stools.

All forms of hepatitis have similar symptoms. Only a blood test can tell if you have hepatitis A or another form of the disease.

Call your doctor right away if:

You have any signs of hepatitis A.
Someone you live with has hepatitis A.
You have eaten in a restaurant that has had an outbreak of the virus.
Your child goes to a day care center where hepatitis A has been reported.
How is hepatitis A diagnosed?
Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and where you have eaten or traveled. You may have blood tests if your doctor thinks you have the virus. These tests can tell if your liver is inflamed and whether you have antibodies to the hepatitis A virus. These antibodies prove that you have been exposed to the virus.

Take steps to avoid passing hepatitis A on to others. Tell people you live with or have sex with that you have hepatitis A. Wash your hands with soap and hot water right after you use the bathroom or change a diaper and before you prepare food.

How is it treated?
Hepatitis A goes away on its own in most cases. You can help yourself get better faster by drinking lots of water and eating a healthy mix of foods.

Unlike other forms of hepatitis, the hepatitis A virus does not lead to long-term illness or serious liver damage. Most people get well within a few months.

While you have hepatitis A, cut back on daily activities until all of your energy returns. As you start to feel better, take your time in getting back to your regular activities. If you try to meet your regular pace too soon, you may get sick again.

You can only get the hepatitis A virus once. After that, your body builds up a defense against it.

Can hepatitis A be prevented?
You can protect yourself from hepatitis A by getting a vaccine (Havrix or Vaqta). You will get it in a series of two shots. It is usually 100% effective if you get both shots before you are exposed to the virus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that all children get the hepatitis A vaccine when they are at least 1 year old.

If you have been around someone who you know has hepatitis A, getting an injection of immune globulin (IG) may prevent you from getting the disease. It’s important for you to get the shot within 2 weeks of being exposed to the virus.

What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. Most adults who get hepatitis B have it for a short time and then get better. This is called acute hepatitis B.

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.

Sometimes the virus does not go away. This is called chronic hepatitis B. Over time, it can damage your liver. Babies and young children infected with the virus are more likely to get chronic hepatitis B.

What causes hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is spread through contact with the blood and body fluids of an infected person.

You can get hepatitis B if you:

Have sex without using a condom.
Share needles to inject drugs.
Get a tattoo or piercing with tools that were not cleaned right.
Share personal items like razors or toothbrushes.
A mother who has the virus can pass it to her baby during delivery. If you are pregnant and think you may have been exposed to hepatitis B, get tested. If you have the virus, your baby can get shots to help prevent the virus.

You cannot get hepatitis B from casual contact such as hugging, kissing, sneezing, coughing, or sharing food or drinks.

What are the symptoms?
Many people with hepatitis B do not know they have it, because they do not have symptoms. If you do have symptoms, you may just feel like you have the flu. Symptoms include:

Feeling very tired.
Mild fever.
Headache.
Not wanting to eat.
Feeling sick to your stomach or vomiting.
Belly pain.
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.
Most people with chronic hepatitis B have no symptoms.

How is hepatitis B diagnosed?
A simple blood test can tell your doctor if you have the hepatitis B virus now or if you had it in the past. Your doctor will also be able to tell if you have had the vaccine to prevent the virus.

If your doctor thinks you may have liver damage from hepatitis B, he or she may use a needle to take a tiny sample of your liver for testing. This is called a liver biopsy.

How is it treated?
In most cases, hepatitis B goes away on its own. You can relieve your symptoms at home by resting, eating healthy foods, drinking plenty of water, and avoiding alcohol and drugs.

Treatment for chronic hepatitis B depends on whether the virus is getting worse and whether you have liver damage. Most people with chronic hepatitis B can live active, full lives by taking good care of themselves and getting regular checkups. There are medicines for chronic hepatitis B, but they may not be right for everyone. Work with your doctor to decide whether medicine is the right treatment for you.

Sometimes chronic hepatitis B can lead to severe liver damage. If this happens, you may need a liver transplant.

Can hepatitis B be prevented?
The hepatitis B vaccine is the best way to prevent infection. The vaccine is a series of three shots. Adults at risk and all babies, children, and teenagers should be vaccinated.

To avoid getting or spreading the virus to others:

Use a condom when you have sex.
Do not share needles.
Wear latex or plastic gloves if you have to touch blood.
Do not share toothbrushes or razors.

Comparison of Seven types of Viral Hepatitis

Hepatitis A
Occurence: Epidemic in areas of poor sanitation; common in fall and early winter

Incubation period: About 30 days

Risk factors: close personal contact or by handling feces-contaminated wastes; poor sanitation; poeple who work with animals from HAV endemic areas or who eat raw or steamed shellfish

Transmission: Infected feces, fecal-oral route; may be airborne if copious secretions; shellfish contaminated water; no carries state

Severity: Mortality low; rarely causes fulminating hepatic failure

Diagnostic Tests: Anti-HAV-IgM- positive in acute hepatitis; IgG-positive after infection

Prophylaxis and active or passive immunity: Hygiene, immune globulin (passive), inactive hepatitis A vaccine (active)

Hepatitis B
Occurence:World-wie, especially in drug addicts, homosexuals, people exposed to blood and blood prodects; occurs all year

Incubation period: 6 weeks to 6 months; mean 12-14 weeks

Risk factors:Health care workerss in contact with body secretions, blood, and blood products; hemodialysis and post-transfusion clients; homosexually active males and drug abusers

Transmission: Most cases in united states now result from heterosexual transmission; contact with blood and body fluids, carrier state

Severity: more serious, may be fatal

Diagnostic Tests: HBsAg, HBV-DNA, anti-HBc-IgM, HbeAg, anti-HBsAg

Prophylaxis and active or passive immunity: hygiene, avoidance of risk factors, HBIG(passive), recombinant hepatitis B vaccine(active), hepatitis B vaccine ([assive)

HEPATITIS C

Occurence: Post-transfusion, those working around blood and blood products, IV drug users; occur all year

[b]Incubation period: 6-7 weeks

Risk factors: [/b]similar to that for hepatitis B, also IV drug use, intranasal cocaine use, body piercing, multiple sex partners

Transmission: contact with blood and body fluids; source of infection uncertain in many clients, carrier state

[b]Severity: can lead to chronic hepatitis

Diagnostic Tests:[/b] Anti-HCV or anti-HDV, HCV RNA

Prophylaxis and active or passive immunity: Hygiene anti-HCV infection alfa-2b in combination with ribavirin (rebetol)


HEPATITIS D

Occurence: Hepatitis D virus causes hepatitis only in association with hepatitis B virus and only in presence of HBsAg

Incubation period: -----

Risk factors:New cases now infrequent; same as for hepatitis B same as for hepatitis B

Transmission:Co-infects with hepatitis B, close personal contact; carrier state

Severity: similar to hepatitis B, more severe if occurs with chronic hepatitis B; increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma

Diagnostic Tests:HDAg-positive (anti-HDV), HDV RNA serum

Prophylaxis and active or passive immunity: Hygiene; hepatitis B vaccine (active)


Hepatitis E

Occurence: Parts of Asia, Africa, India, and Mexico where there is poor sanitation

Incubation period: 14-60days, mean 40 days

Risk factors: traveling or living in areas where incidence is high

Transmission: Fecal-oral route, food- or water-borne; no carrier state

Severity: Illness self-limiting; mortality rate in pregnant women 10%-20%

Diagnostic Tests: Anti- HEV

Prophylaxis and active or passive immunity: hygiene, sanitation, no immunity

Hepatitis F

Occurence: is rare and difficult to diagnose because of lack of testing methods

Incubation period:--------
Risk factors:----------
Transmission:----------
Severity: ---------
Diagnostic Tests:---------
Prophylaxis and active or passive immunity:-----------

Hepatitis G

Occurence: Associated with chronic viremia lasting 10 years; rarely causes frank hepatitis

Incubation period:---------

Risk factors: health care workers in the hemodialysis, IV drug users, hemodialysis clients, chronic hepatitis B or C clients

[b]Transmission: Percutaneous

Severity:[/b] Does not appear to cause liver disease

Diagnostic Tests: Anti- HGV

Prophylaxis and active or passive immunity: Hygiene

reference: me-surg book
author: black hawks
pages:1323-1335, if you want to read in full details

kapagod magtypee..........