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Hepatitis B
Medical Questions » Hepatitis B
| Name: Hepatitis B |
| Also known as: Serum Hepatitis |
| A viral infection of the liver. |
Causes of Hepatitis B
Can only be caught by intimate contact with the blood or semen of a person who has the disease or is a carrier of the disease. Examples include receiving blood from a carrier, using a contaminated needle, rubbing a graze or cut on an infected person' s graze or cut, being bitten by an infected person, or most commonly by having sex (homosexual or heterosexual) with them. 90% of babies born to mothers who are carriers catch the disease. The highest incidences are amongst homosexual men, drug addicts who share needles, Australian Aborigines, and the disease is widespread in southeast Asia. Blood banks screen all donations for hepatitis B. Splashes of blood into an eye or onto a cut or graze can spread the disease, and doctors, dentists, nurses and other health workers are therefore at risk. |
Symptoms of Hepatitis B
There is a long incubation period of six weeks to six months, and the infection cannot be detected during this period. Once active it causes the patient to be very ill with a liver infection, fever, jaundice (yellow skin), nausea and loss of appetite. Some develop only a very mild form of the disease but they are still contagious and may suffer the long term effects. |
Tests for Hepatitis B
Blood tests are available to diagnose the type of hepatitis and monitor its progress. |
Treatment for Hepatitis B
Bed rest, and a diet that is low in protein and high in carbohydrate. Alcohol is forbidden. Sometimes it is necessary to give medication for nausea and vomiting and to feed severely affected patients by a drip into a vein for a short time. If it continues to worsen, drugs may be used to reduce the liver damage. It is possible to vaccinate against hepatitis B.
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Complications of Hepatitis B of its treatment
Patients must ensure that they are no longer infectious before having sex with anyone and have regular blood tests throughout their life to detect any liver damage. 10% of patients develop cirrhosis, failure of the liver or liver cancer. |
Likely Outcome of Hepatitis B
Nine out of ten patients recover completely after a few weeks, but one in ten become chronic carriers. About 1% of patients develop a rapidly progressive liver disease that causes death. |
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