Hepatitis is the condition that causes the liver to inflame. If a vital organ such as the liver is damaged, its essential functions such as processing nutrients, filtering blood, and fighting infections get disrupted.
What is Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). If hepatitis B infection turns out to be chronic (lasting more than six months), it increases one’s risk of liver failure, can cause liver cancer or cirrhosis and leave permanent scars on the liver.
Hepatitis B can be either a short-term illness, as can be seen in many people or a long-term chronic illness in some, culminating in critical health issues such as liver cirrhosis or Liver cancer. Most infants and children with hepatitis B are likely to develop chronic infection later on, while only a tiny percentage of adults end up with a chronic infection.
Hepatitis B also gets transmitted when body fluids (such as blood, semen, etc.) get transferred from a person infected with HBV to the body of a person who does not have the infection.
Symptoms of Hepatitis B
Visible symptoms may not show up initially for all people who have been infected. The symptoms that do show up are abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, joint pain, dark urine, fever and fatigue, low appetite and jaundice.
How does one contract Hepatitis B
HBV can be transmitted from one person to another by the following means;
- Through sexual contact
lf you have unprotected sex with a person infected with HBV, there is every chance you will contract the disease. The virus can enter your body without infection through the blood, saliva, semen or vaginal secretions.
- Through sharing needles and syringes
You are at high risk if needles and syringes used on a person affected by the virus are used on a person who is not infected.
- From mother to baby during childbirth
Pregnant women affected by HVB can pass on the virus to their babies during childbirth.
How to prevent hepatitis B?
It can be prevented through hepatitis B vaccines. They are a safe way to prevent this disease among infants, children and adults.
A transmitted person’s family and sexual partners should be tested and vaccinated.
This condition is usually not spread by coughing, sneezing or sharing food.
It is only spread through direct contact with bodily fluids and infected blood.
Ensure sterile and fresh needles are used for piercing, tattooing and acupuncture.
Do not consume illegal street drugs.
Condoms have to be used with sexual partners.
After any kind of exposure to blood, make sure you wash your hands with soap.
It is mandatory to clean blood with a diluted bleach solution.
If you have cuts on your body, you must cover them carefully.
Hepatitis is a serious concern for health care workers as they always come into contact with blood.
WHO recommends that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine as soon as they are born. The vaccine lasts for twenty years if infants complete their hepatitis b vaccine series. The vaccine has been available since the 1980s and is known to be highly effective.
WHO recommends that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine as soon as they are born. If infants complete their hepatitis b vaccine series, it will last for twenty years. The vaccine has been available since the 1980s and is highly effective.
Hepatitis B can lead to other serious health issues. It is the main reason for cancer, liver damage, liver failure, and Liver Cirrhosis.