Infectious Disease

Hepatitis B is a disease that basically attacks the liver. Hepatitis B is a transmitted disease, meaning you can't get hepatitis B unless a persons bodily fluids has been transmitted from one person to another who isn't affected. You can get hepatitis B by also doing common things that doesn't seem like not a big deal, but leads to a big effect later on. For example, you can get hepatitis B by using another person's razor because if you cut yourself with it and they cut themselves with it as well it could lead to infection and easily into your body. Also by sharing dirty needles and being tattooed and that's's why it is very important to make sure everything is completely sanitized no matter what it is. Depending how badly it is you could cause

Many people with acute HBV have no symptoms at all, or they could be very insignificant and flu-like. Sometimes the infected person may have a loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle or joint aches, mild fever, and in some cases jaundice (yellowing of the skin). Also, some of the patients may notice dark urine and light colored stools. Because Hepatitis sometimes has no symptoms it can be unknowingly transmitted through exposure to blood or other bodily fluids or through intimate

Mr. Wilson is a 47 year old man being evaluated for complaints of fatigue, anorexia and abdominal distention. On examination, it is noted that the skin is jaundiced and the liver enlarged. D.W. denies significant alcohol or drug use. He denies any known exposure to hepatitis and has never been vaccinated for hepatitis. He is taking no medication. Laboratory tests reveal the following and a diagnosis of acute hepatitis B is made:

So what is Hepatitis B and what causes it? This is a liver disease that is normally spread through person to person via contact with the following: blood, semen, body fluids from a person with the virus. Most commonly, this disease unfortunately is spread from the mother to her

Treatment is varied. There are several drugs used to treat hepatitis in the United States. Intron A, Epivir-HBV, Pegasys, Baraclude, Hepsera, Viread, and Tyzeka are the only FDA approved drugs that have been shown to slow the virus and decrease liver damage and in some cases the virus is killed completely ("Hepatitis Treatments," n.d.). Ultimately vaccination is the best way to prevent HBV. The vaccine has been found to be effective and safe. Administration is given over a 6 month time and consists of 3-4 shots ("Hepatitis B," n.d.) and is estimated to be 95% effective. Everyone should be vaccinated but the

There are 5 variants of viral hepatitis from hepatitis A through to hepatitis E and these are caused by different viruses (Neighbours and Jones, 2010). In the initial stages of contracting viral hepatitis there is a possibility of being asymptomatic or there can be some non-specific and specific symptoms. Non-specific symptoms in a client could be anorexia, malaise, feelings of nausea and sometimes vomiting, a new dislike of the taste of cigarettes, myalgia (muscle pains), abdominal pains and fever. These non-specific symptoms can lead to a misdiagnosis such as influenza because they are quite general. Hepatitis is suspected when specific symptoms develop such as right upper quadrant

Most people have an acute case of HBV and according to the Cleveland Clinic, 2014, “most acute (HBV) infections produce no symptoms”, so people can have an acute case of HBV and not know it. When symptom are present, they range widely in severity. Possible symptoms include: “Unusually light-colored stool; fever; unexplained fatigue that persists for weeks or months; gastrointestinal symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting; abdominal pain; joint pain and jaundice” (CDC, 2014).

One such deadly disease is Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is a life threatening liver infection that is caused due to Hepatitis B virus. This virus leads to chronic infection and results in to high risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Hepatitis B has two types, which have different effect on adults. Acute Hepatitis B occurs for short time. People usually affected by acute virus, get well with the time. On the other hand, there is Chronic Hepatitis B, which causes long time infection and damages liver. This virus spreads through the blood and body fluids of an infected person.

HBV, as stated above, is a disease that affects the liver by coming into contact as an infant from the mother during birth, sex with an infected partner, sharing needles, razors, or toothbrushes of an

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.

The majority of individuals with chronic hepatitis B were infected as infants or children (Worman, 2006). Individuals infected with chronic hepatitis B are likely to develop liver damage, cirrhosis, or liver cancer. The symptoms associated with chronic hepatitis B are: fatigue, weakness, depression, loss of appetite, and immune-related disorders (Worman, 2006). Individuals may also experience symptoms which occur in other areas of the body then liver. Chronic hepatitis B can also be further divided into three categories; inactive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and chronic hepatitis B, which can be HBeAg positive or HBeAg negative, and resolved chronic hepatitis B (Zein & Edwards, 2009).

My interest in Infectious disease began even before entering residency half way across the world in the unique country of Nepal. Nepal is rich in natural beauty with breath taking landscapes, diverse culture but is also one of the most impoverished. I had the privilege to witness first hand how the dedicated physicians living there do the most with less in one of the most remotest parts of Nepal. Majority of the cases were infectious in nature with differentials including organisms not as prevalent in the US: tuberculosis, typhoid, dengue, malaria, brucellosis and leptospirosis to name a few. What the physicians lacked in resources, they made up their close attention to detail in both the history and the thoroughness of their physical exam. My interest further developed during my residency years where I had the pleasure of working with seasoned infectious disease attendings and was exposed to an array of pathology… even seeing a handful of extremely rare

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.

The symptoms start appearing after two to five weeks of infection. The main symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low fever, rashes, loss of appetite and yellowing of skin (jaundice), abdominal pain. Diarrhea occurs in case of children. No specific treatment is there. Patients need adequate rest and proper nutrition. If skin becomes yellow then the patient needs a blood test or a liver panel test. If a person vomits for a long period amount of time, they get dehydrated; then, only then, hospitalization is needed. Patients should drink a plenty amount of water, or fluids. He or she should take food, which does not cause any harm to the liver. Patients should avoid tea, coffee or any alcoholic beverages, which causes harm to liver. He or she takes adequate rest. He should not take any medicine which causes harm to liver. If patient is confused about taking medicine then he or she should consult a doctor. Techniques for growing HAV in cell culture have made it possible to generate sufficient amounts of virus for vaccine production. Several inactivated or live attenuated vaccines against hepatitis A have been developed, but only four inactivated hepatitis A vaccines are currently available internationally. All four vaccines are similar in terms of efficacy and side-effect profile. The vaccines are given parenterally, as a two-dose series, 6-18 months apart. The dose of vaccine,

The symptoms of yellow fever are varied. The virus has an incubation period of three to six days. The first symptoms will be fever, muscle pain, backache, headache, shivers, and loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. Frequently a slow pulse accompanies the fever. Most people improve after three to four days, however in 15% of the cases; patients go into a toxic phase within 24 hours. Fever reappears, and they exhibit jaundice and abdominal pain with vomiting. Bleeding occurs from the mouth, eyes, nose and stomach. The kidneys fail to produce urine, and blood appears in the vomit and feces. Half of the patients who experience this toxic phase die in ten to fourteen days. Due to the fact that many of these symptoms are identical to malaria and other diseases native to the areas, yellow fever is difficult to recognize. Blood tests can identify the virus, but may not be easily available to people in poorer developing countries.