Hepatitis is a disease caused by a virus that is characterized by liver inflammation. There are three common types of hepatitis – A, B, and C. “Over the past 15 years the incidences of hepatitis and b virus infection in the US have declined significantly. By contrast, the incidence of hepatitis C, formally stable or in decline, has increased 75% since 2010”. (Dan, 2015)
Hepatitis C is transmitted parenterally, often through IV drug use and sexual contact. The CDC links the increase in prevalence of this disease to a rise in injection drug use, especially in white adolescents and young adults who live in non-urban settings. Acute infection progresses to chronic disease in 75-85% of cases. Hepatitis C is usually asymptomatic, even in the presence of liver disease. Chronic hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver related death and liver cancer in the western world. (Dan, 2015)
With the rise of hepatitis C, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed new screening recommendations, innovations in assessment and treatment, and an updated action plan that is likely to make an impact in treatment and prevention of the disease. This plan was released in 2011 (updated in 2014) and is the first national, comprehensive, multiagency plan to evolve for hepatitis. The plan outlines actions that can be taken to improve health outcomes for both hepatitis B and C, but the focus is on using this tool to treat and decrease the rising number of hepatitis c cases.
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.
Hepatitis C contamination additionally expands the danger of creating liver disease just like hepatitis B. Until the 1980 's, hepatitis C virus (HCV) was known as non-A non-B hepatitis. The underlying disease may have side effects, yet a critical number of individuals don 't have side effects. Not at all like hepatitis B, in which the ailment does not frequently get to be constant, have around 80% of individuals with hepatitis C built up an endless disease. As the invulnerable framework keeps on assaulting the infection after some time, fibrosis grows, in the end prompting cirrhosis. This unending aggravation can likewise prompt liver growth. This infection is spread through tainted blood, for example, with transfusions and IV drug misuse, however numerous individuals don 't have evident danger components for the sickness. It is currently suggested that
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.
Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver caused by the virus called Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Hepatitis C can be acute and chronic, it is an asymptomatic disease, but a chronic infection can be life threatening and cause serious health complications in the future and eventually death. Many are unaware of this infection; the life threatening health risk involves liver damage, end- stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma and even death. It 's been estimated that in the United States 2.7 million people are infected with chronic HCV, whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 3.2 million (Ditah, 2010). The infected population are primarily in their fifties and sixties, born between 1945 and 1965. One attributable cause is believed to be the transmission of the contaminated blood through organ transplants and drug injections. It is expected that compensated cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) will increase by over 80 percent from the year 2000 to the year 2020. Over the same period, it is estimated that decompensated cirrhosis would increase over 100 percent and that liver-related deaths would increase by 181 percent (Davis GL, Albright JE, 2003).
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), the most common blood-borne pathogen known to man, can last a lifetime and lead to serious liver problems, including cirrhosis, liver cancer, and ultimately death. It is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer and the most common reason for liver transplantation in the United States. The largest and most significant risk factor for the virus is misuse of IV drugs. Approximately 19,000 people die every year from Hepatitis C related liver disease. The impact of undiagnosed and untreated HCV is expected to increase dramatically over the next 40 to 50 years with 1.76 million persons developing cirrhosis, 400,000 developing HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma), and 1 million persons dying from HCV-associated complications.
Hepatitis-C is a disease which damages the liver and is spread from person to person by contact with contaminated blood. This type of hepatitis is most common amongst people who use opioids, but this is also has an impact on the number of transplants that can occur every year. Hepatitis does not only affect
Hepatitis C is a form of liver inflammation caused by the hepacivirus, a member of the Flaviviridae family.It is a highly infectious blood born disease most commonly transmitted by shared needles among drug users. According to the CDC it affects approximately 3.9 million Americans and unfortunately 2.7 million of those individuals are chronically infected. Because the signs and symptoms may not appear sometimes for up to 20-30 years, many people may die from the chronic illness as the disease has a higher treatment response in the acute stages.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver tissue. It’s ordinarily caused by a virus infection, however, there are different potential causes of infectious disease. These embrace reaction to infectious disease and infectious disease that happens as a secondary result of medications, drugs, toxins, and alcohol.
Hepatitis C is a significant public health problem in Australia with approximately 10000 new infections occurring annually1. In 25% of patients, acute Hepatitis C infection is followed by viral clearance, defined as undetectable levels of HCV RNA in the blood, with the remaining 75% progressing to chronic infection. Without intervention, those with chronic infection are at increased risk of hepatic fibrosis and progression to hepatic cirrhosis. There appears to be a significant variation in the reported rates of progression of chronic hepatitis C infection to cirrhosis, ranging from 4% to 20% in 20 years, depending on the sample population and method of acquisition of the virus2. The risk of development of hepatocellular cancer is about 2 – 4% per annum3. Current use of alcohol7, type 2 diabetes and those with the metabolic syndrome are more likely to progress to cirrhosis when infection with hepatitis C is present.
There are several different types of hepatitis. Some of the most common are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis E, Autoimmune Hepatitis, and Alcoholic Hepatitis. Most of these could be easily prevented by getting the Hepatitis vaccine. Hep C is the inflammation of the liver caused by the Hepatitis C virus. Most people who have Hep C show little symptoms if they have
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
Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver’s cells and tissues caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
There are three common types of the Hepatitis are A, B, and C. Though they sound familiar they all come from different viruses. They all have affected the liver different
Blood-borne viral infections can be very dangerous, even deadly, if contacted. One of these viral infections is known as hepatitis. Hepatitis, or simply "hep," is a disease caused by the inflation of the liver due to the infection of a virus. Today's medical technology has helped us identify five different types of hepatitis, though there may be more. The most common types are Hepatitis A, B, and C.
Hepatitis C is an inflammatory condition of the liver that ultimately results in cirrhosis consequently leading up to liver cell cancer due to a blood-borne virus. The infection is usually asymptomatic showing how those who are infected with Hepatitis C are unaware of its presence until the condition has become potentially life-threatening. The main ways in which the virus is transmitted is from the transfusion of unscreened blood, improper sterilization of invasive medical devices used in surgery and other internal examinations of the patient and the reuse of syringes by health care providers for common ailments or by narcotic users.