Hepatitis C Lab Paper

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.

A few years ago, Hepatitis C was a scary term for many of us. But, today the medical problem is curable as there are various and advanced ways available. The improvement in the treatment is especially notable because experts have worked harder to obtain this success. Still, there are some significant changes are left and hopefully they will be completed soon. Presently, the HCV treatments get rid of the virus in merely slightly more than half of all sufferers. The medicines also have unnecessary side effects that make it complicated or not possible for some patients to get them. HCV medication online available, but it is not worthy to take them without the concern of the doctor.

After 1992 blood banks began screening the blood for the hepatics C virus. According to Dr. Palmer on page 117 she states, that it has been estimated by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that almost 300,000 Americans have contracted HCV prior to the advent of screening of donated blood and blood product for HIV.

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

12- Hepatitis A- is usually not a serious illness. It is prevalent in developing countries, especially those with overcrowding and poor sanitation, in men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users.

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. There are currently five known viruses that cause can hepatitis (Microbiology, 10e). The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted through contact with the blood of an infected person; however, it is now more commonly spread among IV drug users that share needles. Healthcare workers are also at risk for contracting HCV, but with standard precautions, the risk is low. “Prior to 1992, some people acquired the HCV infection from transfusions of blood or blood products. Since 1992, all blood products have been screened for HCV, and cases of HCV due to blood transfusion now are extremely rare. HCV can be passed from mother to unborn child. Approximately 4 out of every 100 infants born to HCV-positive mothers

What is Hepatitis B?-Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by HBV or the hepatitis B virus. Most people who have Hepatitis B usually have what’s called an acute infection meaning that it will only last for a short period of time (usually a couple days or weeks). This virus can be chronic for some people which means that it can last longer than six months. (6)

On March 24th at 7:30 in the Chapel, Jay Parish presented “The Discovery of Antiviral Agents and What I Learned Learned Along the Way”. He elaborated on his contributions to the study of anti-virals for the treatment of different viruses, particularly Hepatitis C. By explaining the course of the virus, Mr. Parish brought light to a medical concern that is typically unheard of by people. His lecture was quite interesting in that it made people realize that the parameters of an illness/virus is much more complex than perceived.

HCV is an enveloped single stranded RNA virus and belongs to the genus Hepacivirus of the family Flaviviridae (Irshad el al., 2013). Analysis has identified 6 different types of HCV genotypes numbered 1 to 6 (Pawlotsky, 2003). Genotype 1 is the common type of HCV currently in the United States (Irshad el al., 2013). Differentiating between the genotypes when determining the which antiviral regimen to treat the patient with. Humans are the only known natural host for HCV (Pawlotsky, 2003). HCV is a non-cytopathic virus that enters the liver cell and replicates causing hepatocytes necrosis by several mechanisms by immune mediated cytolysis and metabolic changes including hepatic steatosis, oxidative stress and insulin resistance

Initial curative treatment in the early 1990’s used interferon and the antiviral ribavirin with a cure rate of 50% (Watson, n.d., p. 1). 2011 saw the invention of two antiviral medications, telaprivir and boceprevir, that increased cure rates to 70%. In 2013 newer drugs, simeprevir and sofosbuvir, were introduced with the later creating 90% cure rates in patients (Watson, n.d., p.gs. 1-2). Simeprevir (Sovaldi) was created for administration once per day over a minimum of a year (Gilead, 2014). Eradication of the disease in patients is effective in patients co-infected with HIV with low rates of side effects (Sulkowski, et al., 2014), highlighting its efficacy in complex patient populations. The cost of such treatment is $1,000 per day with an average cost for curative course exceeding $94,000 (Venteicher, 2014). The medication is FDA approved and prescribed readily, but patients are not receiving access to the medication through their insurers.

This review will draw out and summarize key themes and findings from those five studies. Next, potential gaps in the research related to hepatitis C risk factors for this population will be examined. It will will then conclude with a brief discussion of future directions for research, as well as the implications of these risk factors on hepatitis C policy and interventions for urban Indigenous populations.

A great majority of people in the world who live in a poor area where there is impoverished sanitation have been infected with this virus. Hepatitis B virus (HBV), a sexually transmitted disease, disseminated by contact with infected body fluids, semen, and blood. Conceivably, studies have shown that the HBV virus between humans and apes pinpointed evidence of division between human genotypes A-E from the viruses sampled from apes and human genotype F. This historical analysis enhanced the ideology of intergenotypic recombination and intricate patterns of nucleotide substitution caused by differential selection pressures (Fares, Holmes, 2002). Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is mostly disseminated through exposure to infective blood. This type of disease escalates through direct blood contact with another person who has the disease. HCV patients have 20% of developing cirrhosis. Immunologic abnormalities in conjunction with HCV infection sometimes triggers patients to die from fulminant hepatitis (Funaoka, Kato, Komatsu, Ono, Hoshino, Kuramitsu, Ishii, Toyoshima, Massamune, 1996). Individuals who have hepatitis D obtain the infection through blood, perforation of the skin with infected needles, and unprotected sex. People who have this disease have swollen liver as a symptom. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is infected by consumption of contaminated food or water. Anal and oral sex of this disease can infect those who come into contact. There is no long-term

About 4% of the Indian population was estimated to be HBV carriers giving a total of approximately 36 million carriers, with chronic hepatitis B constituting more than 50% of the

Viral hepatitis is a disease that has significant effects in countries all over the world. In more developed countries, such as the United States (U.S.), a low percentage of people - 2% - are infected with either Hepatitis A or E. This is because those types of hepatitis are spread through infected food or water consumption and since the U.S. follows regulations through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the chance of contracting Hepatitis A or E is low. However, in underdeveloped regions such as in Africa, the percentage of those susceptible to those forms of hepatitis are higher, especially in pregnant woman. The mortality rate for infected women is 15% to 25% (Wilson, 2009).