Taking a Lookat Hepatitis C Virus

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

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

Lastly is unprotected sex. The virus is present in the menstrual blood of infected women, so sexual intercourse at this time creates a potentially hazardous situation. There have been reports of transmission of HCV through sexual intercourse outside menses and between males, but there is current debate as to whether this is actually possible without the presence of a skin or tissue tear or some other disease that provide an opening in the skin of both the infected person and potential recipient. Most people are surprised to learn they have hepatitis C. Many people believe, they were never at risk for acquiring the virus. They, therefore, cannot imagine how they contracted it.

Hepatitis C is a prevalent health care problem. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2016), approximately 2.7-3.9 million of the adult population in the United States is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Some groups of people are at risk for Hepatitis C infection, including current injection drug users, people who received the blood transfusion before 1992, organ recipients from a donor who tested positive for hepatitis C virus, hemodialysis patients, and children born to a hepatitis C mother (CDC, 2016). Hepatitis C causes embarrassment and isolation from the society. Self-esteem and understanding of the family, friend and community will motivate the patient to have a good quality life in society. This

Recall the dreaded trips to the doctor’s office when it was time to get shots. These shots are vaccines, which provide immunity to certain diseases. You received vaccines for Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Measles and Polio. A vaccine you did not get though, is one for Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a disease that affects the way the liver operates, and although there is a vaccine for both Hepatitis A and B, there is not one for C. Hepatitis C affects the digestive system, more specifically the liver. It can also damage the central nervous system and the circulatory system. Blood tests are the most common way to detect Hepatitis C and after one has been diagnosed with it, there are many ways to treat it. Hepatitis C is a treatable disease with varying

Medicaid officials across the country are pushing for the access to the new hepatitis C drugs to be widened by state Medicaid programs because the guidelines are unreasonably strict and these medications can cost up to $1,000 per pill. The Food and Drug Administration approved the new hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni, on July 24 of this year. These expenses can cost up to $84,000 for the recommended treatment period of 12 weeks. The hepatitis C drugs can help cure thousands of people with hepatitis C, which is why Federal and State officials are pushing for access to these drugs to be widened.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “HAV is found in the stool of people who have Hepatitis A. It is usually spread by close personal contact and sometimes by eating food or drinking water containing HAV.”(Anonymous, 2011, para.2) HAV can be easily spread from person to person just by one not washing their hands properly before handling food or water.

The major risk factors for HAV infections are contaminated food and water, poor hygiene and sanitation, person-to-person contact (house-hold and sexual contact), and travelling to endemic countries. Blood exposure in HAV infections are rare. Persons at increased risk of infection are susceptible peopling living in and travelling to endemic areas, injection drug users, and people with chronic liver disease (Heymann,2015).

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

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.

Injection drug use has been the principal mode of transmission of HCV since the 1970's. In comparison to other viral infections, HCV is more rapidly acquired after initiation of intravenous drug use. In addition, rates of HCV among young injecting drug-users are four times higher than HIV infection. Studies of injection drug users have demonstrated that the prevalence of HCV infection in them is extremely high, with up to 90% having been exposed (Patrick et al., 2000). In addition, the incidence of new infections is also high, with seroconversion rates of 10-20 percent per year of injecting (Hahn.2001).

There are so many ways to be infected by disease or a virus. It’s very dangerous to be affected by a virus because it can mean death to a human being if not treated right away. One of the deadliest types of viruses are Blood borne pathogens. Blood borne pathogens are normally transmitted to a human by a bodily fluid from a contaminated person. They can enter your body through open cuts, mucus membranes, skin abrasions or even sharing needles. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are the most common types of blood borne pathogens. These 3 types are very deadly to humans. These pathogens have been affecting humans for a very long time. The first known case for HIV was in 1959, at the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Later on in the year 1981 was the first reported case of HIV in the United States of America. Hepatitis B was officially recognized in the year 1967. People with Hepatitis B can develop Liver cancer. Historians believe that the first cases of Hepatitis C, was around the 8th century A.D. Cases were also reported during the civil war and referred to as Campaign Jaundice. Even in World War 2 soldiers were hospitalized for Hepatitis C. Some of these blood borne pathogens were discovered very recently. During the times they were discovered they destroyed many lives.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world that is most affected by HIV/AIDS. The United Nations reports that an estimated 25.4 million people are living with HIV and that approximately 3.1 million new infections occurred in 2004. To put these figures in context, more than 60 percent of the people living with the infection reside in Africa. Even these staggering figures do not quite capture the true extent and impact that this disease causes on the continent. In 1998, about 200,000 Africans died as a result of various wars taking place on the continent. In that same year, more than 2 million succumbed to HIV/AIDS (Botchwey, 2000).

HIV is a virus that is spread almost all over the world. Although in some places health care isn’t as developed and therefore it spreads more in those regions. Sub-Saharan Africa holds more than 70%, 25 million, of all HIV positive people in the world. Second highest is Eastern Europe together with Central Asia with 1.3 million. It is spread over most of the world, including Asia and the Pacific, the Caribbean, Central and South America, North Africa and the Middle East and Western and Central Europe (“The Regional Picture”).