Hepatitis C Essay

This research paper is going to review today’s silent killer, the Hepatitis C virus. This paper will talk about the description of the disease, the signs and symptoms, the etiology and risk factors, diagnostic studies, treatments and prognosis of this disease. I had lived with this disease for over ten years before diagnosed so it is important to understand the signs and symptoms so the disease can be identified and a treatment plan can be identified as the sooner it is treated the more likely it will eradicate the disease.

Lab test results show a positive anti-HCV and confirm that Chad has Hepatitis C. The nurse explains to Chad that Hepatitis is liver disease with inflammation of the cells of the liver. Chad states "I can't have Hepatitis. I had all three of the vaccinations before I started working as a paramedic."

Hepatitis C virus is considered 10 times more infectious than HIV when comparing transmission by blood to blood contact (Wilkinson

The increasing number of citizens that are testing positive for Hepatitis C is shocking and the epidemic is just getting worse. One out of every one hundred people in the general population has Hepatitis C, but the ratio is higher in prisons. One out of every six inmates has Hepatitis C (Wegner, Rottnek, Parker and Crippin, 2014). Hepatitis C (HCV) is a blood disease that is caused by a virus and it affects the liver. Unfortunately there is no vaccine to prevent this disease and I have seen first-hand how ugly this virus is. I have worked in the medical field for the past 6 years and I have a very close friend who contracted HCV. Unfortunately, she was one of the many people that needed a liver transplant. HCV has infected four times as

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. According to related research, about 2.7 million persons in the United States have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, and globally about 130–150 million people have chronic hepatitis C infection.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis is most commonly caused by viruses, and can cause your liver to become inflamed, swollen and tender. The symptoms of Hepatitis start out like the flu with coughing, fever, aches, and vomiting. However, the disease gradually worsens with symptoms of extreme weakness and excruciating abdominal pain. Never the less, Hepatitis can also be caused by alcohol and some other toxins and infections. There are many forms of Hepatitis; the most commonly seen forms are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis c. Furthermore, Worldwide, 500 million people are estimated to be infected with Hepatitis B or C. These viruses kill 1.5 million people a year; 1 in every 3 people has been exposed to either or both viruses and most infected people do not know about it due to dormant symptoms.

In general, a patient is infected with only one hepatitis C virus genotype. The strain of genotypes is not differentiated by the severity of the disease. However, there will make a distinction in the regimen and the duration of the treatment (CDC, 2016). Treatment for chronic HCV is based on guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Associations for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The criteria of who should receive the treatment include how much the virus in the body, the strain of hepatitis C, the degree of liver inflammation or damage, comorbidity, and response to previous treatment (Infectious Diseases Society of America [IDSA], 2016). The highest priority for treatment should give to a patient with advanced fibrosis and compensated cirrhosis (IDSA, 2016). Moreover, treatment priority should provide to the patient who has a high risk of transmitting the disease from and to others, such as individuals who are active injection drug users and hemodialysis patients (IDSA, 2016).

Nwakamma stated, “Routes of infection include organ transplantation, IV drug use, sexual contact, exposure to blood, perinatal transmission or occupational exposure” (Nwakamma). Organ transplantation was one of the first ways scientists were able to determine the cause of Hepatitis C. Another more common way Hepatitis C is still being spread is by IV drug use. If a IV needle is contaminated with infected blood, that can cause the person using it to get hepatitis C. When people are injecting drugs into their bodies using someone else’s needle, they are putting themselves at high risk to contract any infectious virus. Infectious viruses are not visible on objects but they are visible once they enter in your bloodstream. The formation of the virus is identified as a positive stranded RNA. Nwakamma makes a similar point about the description of the virus by stating, “The Hepatitis C virus is a small, enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae, and has a genome of approximately ten-thousand nucleotides coding for structural proteins” (Nwakamma). Once the Hepatitis C virus binds to a cell surface receptor that leads to viral entry into the host cell. Due to Flaviviridae being an RNA virus, it cannot replicate in the nucleus. Patients whose condition with Hepatitis C becomes chronic often have a hard time producing insulin. In accordance with the previous

In the 1960’s and 70’s the virus was actually identified after years of research. Scientists were able to discover the Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B virus through numerous blood tests. They also noticed there were patients that tested positive for a virus that was not Hepatitis A or B. This unknown virus was named non-A, non- B hepatitis. In the 1980’s, The Center for Disease Control was able to identify the virus where it was given the name Hepatitis C (“Hepatitis C FAQ”). In 1990, blood banks started testing for the virus by screening blood before it was transfused. By screening the blood, this reduced the risk of contraction by .01% (“Hepatitis C History”). There are two types of Hepatitis C known as Acute Hepatitis C and Chronic Hepatitis C. Acute hepatitis C is a short-term infection in which symptoms can last up to 6 months. Those with Acute Hepatitis C endure the short term effects of the infection because the body is able to fight off the infection and get rid of the virus. In most cases, the infection is asymptomatic but can lead to a more serious infection which can lead to scarring of the liver causing cirrhosis. This form of HCV is known as Chronic Hepatitis C in which the infection causes cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis can take many years, but it can lead to other health concerns such as liver failure, liver cancer, and other life threatening issues. Patients that contract cirrhosis of the

Hepatitis B was first founded in 1966 by Baruch S. Blumberg. It was first discovered when Dr. Blumberg and his team traveled around the world collecting blood samples from the native population in remote parts of the world. Dr. Blumberg and his team had planned to look for genetic differences and study whether or not the differences were caused or associated with diseases. Technology wasn’t that far progressed though so they had to reevaluate their plan so they decided to turn their attention to the hemophiliac patients. Dr. Blumberg believed that hemophiliacs who received multiple blood transfusions would have been exposed to blood serum proteins that they did not inherit themselves but had been inherited by their

Hepatitis C prevalence is higher in some countries in Africa and Asia. The report published by the Egyptian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) stated that, in Egypt, there is an overall Anti-HCV antibody prevalence of 14.7% (estimated to be about 12 million individuals) and the number of Egyptians estimated to be chronically infected was 9.8% (about 8 million individuals )[8]. Hepatitis C virus represents the second most common blood-borne illness in the world, affecting up to 2% of the world’s population [9]. Data suggest that HCV infection should be regarded as a systemic infection with multi-organ involvement [10].

Although we are well aware of the mode of transmission, the hepatitis C virus itself remains a mystery. The genome of HCV is extremely mutable. Because HCV is an RNA virus and does not have adequate proofreading ability as it replicates, virions infecting humans undergo evolution with time, giving rise to the notion that HCV persists as a collection of virus quasispecies. Because it is constantly mutating, HCV is able to escape detection and elimination its human host. HCV undergoes quick mutation in a hypervariable region of the genome coding for the envelope proteins and escapes immune surveillance by the host. As a result, most HCV-infected people develop chronic infection. HCV also knocks out the host’s innate immunity.

Hepatitis C has been referred to as a "Silent Epidemic," since it usually progresses slowly over many years. Most people who are infected with hepatitis C are not aware of any noticeable symptoms for as long as one to two decades after they are infected. In fact, by the time symptoms appear, the virus has probably already begun to damage the liver. If the liver is injured and stops functioning, death will always be the outcome (Lieber). Liver failure from chronic hepatitis C is one of the most common causes of liver transplants in the United States.

HCV infection is characterized by its propensity to evolve into chronicity and by a wide clinical spectrum. About 85% of patients infected by HCV will develop chronic infection and resolution of acute hepatitis C is observed in only 15% (Palitzsch et al., 1999). The severity of the liver disease varies widely from asymptomatic chronic infection, with normal liver tests and nearly normal liver, to severe chronic hepatitis, leading rapidly to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The mechanisms responsible for the persistence of HCV infection and for the liver lesions are not well understood. The lack of an efficient in vitro replication system or an animal model (the chimpanzee model is limited) has greatly hampered the study of these mechanisms

Hepatitis is caused by a virus that is targeted at the liver, one of your most important organs!! Specifically, it causes inflammation and injury to the liver. Hepatitis comes in many different forms, five to be exact. There is Hepatitis A, B, C, D & E. Hepatitis is caused mainly by viruses, all of which are set on shutting down your liver. I will be specifically concentrating on Hepatitis A in this report. Hepatitis A is also known as infectious Hepatitis, an extremely contagious viral infection that often effects young children and young adults, especially those in large groups. It has been known to break out in schools, summer camps and music festivals etc.