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. Hepatitis C is a blood transmitted virus that has been know for substandard therapies/ drug treatments. When Mr. Parish commented that currently, there is no absolute cure to HCV, my mind immediately shifted to “cancer”. People often think of cancer as the most severe illness someone can get, because there is no cure. However, we forget that in actuality, there are numerous …show more content…
Parish explained the overall course of HCV and what it means when people say it is a “silence disease”. During the first few phases, the virus starts off small and its effects are unnoticed. Eventually, the virus multiples at an incredibly rate and attacks the liver significantly. Even though to others this may have been just a mere presentation on some virus, to me, it was more personal because I have a close relative who was diagnosed with HCV. It was very discerning to see how quickly the virus progressed and how detrimental it is on the patient. However, I was glad that I was able to learn and know more of the virus. HCV is related to the liver; and it was interesting to hear that the consumption of alcohol can greatly damage the liver. Yet, despite how educated or prestige and individual may be, they still drink. During a conversation I had with my physician, he told me, “I had PhD colleagues who had drinking problems.” It amazed me that even with the full awareness that drinking diminishes the liver’s health, people persist in doing
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.
Ans) – The usual causes of hep C is coming in contact with infectious fluids and seretions from
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 (HCV) is from the virus family Flaviviridae with an RNA envelope serving as it's genetic material. The genetic material (RNA) is HCV's pathogenic structure. The genome is positive sense single stranded RNA, which is very similar to mRNA and can be translated quickly to the host cell (Bauman 2012). Hepatitis C is an enveloped virus, and the RNA also lacks a proofreading ability after replication, which results in mutations coding for many genotypes within the host. This genetic variability makes it difficult for the host immune system to clear all the HCV infections. As one infection clears, another strain is being produced (Bauman 2012). The HCV antibody detected by ELISA(Wilkinson
Although it is alarming about how expensive these drugs may cost, an inescapable idea that would have passed our brains several times already would be “Why should I care?” and that patients are only willing to pay this price because they need it because they are sick. Even if it may seem that we don’t empathize them, the overall perception is that since we don’t have hepatitis C, we would not have to worry about these price tags because we would never have to pay this fee. Because of this, although we may feel sympathy towards these patients, we are rarely able to perceive their problems at a personal level.
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.
KV is a patient who was recently diagnosed with Hepatitis C. She is a 27 year old, English speaking, Caucasian female who grew up and still lives in Minnesota. KV is a bartender and nursing student who loves anything outdoors, cooking, gardening, and being with family and friends. KV contracted this disease from her previous partner and is now single. She has plans of marrying and having kids someday in the future. She has a support base consisting of her family and friends. KV’s parents and family are very involved in all aspects of her life and have supported her through this diagnosis. KV has shown an interest and readiness to learn, which she does best, hands-on. Being a college student, KV is cognitive about her situation and has the capability to understand what is happening to her body and the material that I will teach her.
About 4.1 million people in Americans have the positive antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV), and about 75 percent have permeant infection. Additionally, most of the infections happened 20 to 40 years ago, before the finding of HCV. Hepatitis C increased from 7,000 to 13,000 deaths in 2005. Furthermore, HCV develops slowly which increases the risk of severe complications in the infected people. Identification, death, and treatment are predicted to affect 35,000 by 2030. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) used antiviral therapy with PEGylated in clinical trials (Kalichman, Washington, Kegler, Grebler, Kalichman, Cherry, & Eaton, 2015). The CDC recommends a HCV one time test for people born between 1945 and 1965. The objective of this study was to thoroughly evaluate the amount of substance abusers infected with hepatitis C in the United States. Additionally, to observe the treatment of HCV. Currently Medicaid and Medicare repayment standards for sofosbuvir were calculated in all states, including the District of Columbia. Medicaid and Medicare covered the drug based on the following conditions; liver disease stage, HIV, and drug use. Approximately 42 states reimbursed the following criteria up to 74 percent for the drug sofobuvir. About two-thirds of the United States restricted the treatment centered on prescriber type. About 88 percent included drug abuse in their sofosbuvir admissibility measures. Finally, 50 percent required a date of abstinence and 64 percent required
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
14-Hepatitis C- is a slow-developing disease that can lead to liver damage and liver cancer as many as 30 years after infection. Remission can occur in up to 15 percent of people infected with HCV and four percent of infected people die from the virus.
In time the virus can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Symptoms of HCV are jaundice (yellowing of the eyes), stomach pain, nausea and fatigue. The main problem is that many people don’t have symptoms until they already have some sort of liver damage. Treatment options for HCV include a combination of medications or depending on the degree of damage, a liver transplant. Given that HCV it is a blood disease that is spread through contact with an infected person’s blood, there are many ways to contract this disease. Injection drug users, physical altercations, sexual contact and mother to infant infection are just some of the ways this disease is spread.
Fully understanding the background of Hepatitis C is challenging. This is because there are no blood samples over 50 years old which are around to test (Franciscus, 2016). Therefore, understanding how viruses evolved is impractical. Nevertheless, hepatitis C possibly could have existed for numerous years or longer prior to becoming type of strains that exists today (Franciscus, 2016). Although Hepatitis C may have been unearthed about 35 million years ago (Franciscus, 2016). Yet, this is simply a theory and it is
Initially, the treatment for hepatitis C is a combination of two drug categories which are interferon and ribavirin (IDSA, 2016). Interferon works by stimulating the immune system to attack the hepatitis C virus cells (IDSA, 2016). Pegylated interferon works more efficient than standard interferon. Pegylated interferon is a long-acting type of interferon that is administered as an injection with
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 is an inflammation of the liver’s cells and tissues caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).