World Hepatitis Day, 28 July 2016




      World Hepatitis Day, 28 July 2016


extracted from WHO Website- http://www.who.int/campaigns/hepatitis-day/2016/infographic/en


According to WHO, today, only 1 in 20 people with viral hepatitis know they have it. And just 1 in 100 with the disease is being treated.

     Around the world 400 million people are infected with hepatitis B and C, more than 10 times the number of people living with HIV. An estimated 1.45 million people died of the disease in 2013 – up from less than a million in 1990.
    
An effective vaccine and treatment for hepatitis B exists. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C but there has been dramatic progress on treatment for the disease in the past few years. The introduction of oral medicines, called direct-acting antivirals, has made it possible to potentially cure more than 90% of patients within 2–3 months. But in many countries, current policies, regulations and medicine prices put the cure out of most people’s reach.

Preventing hepatitis

Hepatitis B and C infections are transmitted through contaminated blood as well as through contaminated needles and syringes in healthcare setting and among people who inject drugs. The viruses can also be transmitted through unsafe sex and from an infected mother to her newborn child.
     As of 2014, 184 countries vaccinate infants against hepatitis B as part of their vaccination schedules and 82% of children in these states received the hepatitis B vaccine. This is a major increase compared with 31 countries in 1992, the year that the World Health Assembly passed a resolution to recommend global vaccination against hepatitis B.
 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/world-hepatitis-day/en/

 

Hepatitis A

Key facts

  • Hepatitis A is a viral liver disease that can cause mild to severe illness.
  • The hepatitis A virus (HAV) is transmitted through ingestion of contaminated food and water or through direct contact with an infectious person.
  • Almost everyone recovers fully from hepatitis A with a lifelong immunity. However, a very small proportion of people infected with hepatitis A could die from fulminant hepatitis.
  • The risk of hepatitis A infection is associated with a lack of safe water, and poor sanitation and hygiene (such as dirty hands).
  • Epidemics can be explosive and cause substantial economic loss.
  • A safe and effective vaccine is available to prevent hepatitis A.
  • Safe water supply, food safety, improved sanitation, hand washing and the hepatitis A vaccine are the most effective ways to combat the disease.
     http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs328/en/

      

Hepatitis B

 extracted from Tropical Infectious Diseases by Guerrant, Walker and Weller

Key facts

  • Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease.
  • The virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.
  • An estimated 240 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B (defined as hepatitis B surface antigen positive for at least 6 months).
  • More than 686 000 people die every year due to complications of hepatitis B, including cirrhosis and liver cancer 1.
  • Hepatitis B is an important occupational hazard for health workers.
  • However, it can be prevented by currently available safe and effective vaccine.
Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is a major global health problem. It can cause chronic infection and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/

 

Hepatitis C

 extracted from Tropical infectious Diseases  by Guerrant, Walker, Weller

Key facts

  • Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus: the virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis infection, ranging in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.
  • The hepatitis C virus is a bloodborne virus and the most common modes of infection are through unsafe injection practices, inadequate sterilization of medical equipment, and the transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products.
  • Globally, between 130–150 million people globally have chronic hepatitis C infection.
  • A significant number of those who are chronically infected will develop liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.
  • Approximately 700 000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases 1.
  • Antiviral medicines can cure approximately 90% of persons with hepatitis C infection, thereby reducing the risk of death from liver cancer and cirrhosis, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low.
  • There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C; however research in this area is ongoing.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes both acute and chronic infection. Acute HCV infection is usually asymptomatic, and is only very rarely associated with life-threatening disease. About 15–45% of infected persons spontaneously clear the virus within 6 months of infection without any treatment.
The remaining 55–85% of persons will develop chronic HCV infection. Of those with chronic HCV infection, the risk of cirrhosis of the liver is between 15–30% within 20 years.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs164/en/

 

Hepatitis D

Key facts

  • Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that requires hepatitis B virus (HBV) for its replication. HDV infection occurs only simultaneously or as super-infection with HBV.
  • The virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.
  • Vertical transmission from mother to child is rare.
  • Approximately 15 million people across the world are chronically coinfected with HDV and HBV 1.
  • Currently there is no effective antiviral treatment for hepatitis D.
  • Hepatitis D infection can be prevented by hepatitis B immunization.
Hepatitis D is a liver disease in both acute and chronic forms caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV) that requires HBV for its replication. Hepatitis D infection cannot occur in the absence of hepatitis B virus. The coinfection or super infection of HDV with HBV causes a more severe disease than HBV monoinfection.
A vaccine against hepatitis B is the only method to prevent HDV infection.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/hepatitis-d/en/

 

Hepatitis E

Key facts

  • Hepatitis E is a liver disease caused by infection with a virus known as hepatitis E virus (HEV).
  • Every year, there are an estimated 20 million HEV infections worldwide, leading to an estimated 3.3 million symptomatic cases of hepatitis E1, and 56 600 hepatitis E-related deaths2.
  • Hepatitis E is usually self-limiting but some cases may develop into fulminant hepatitis (acute liver failure).
  • The virus is transmitted via the faecal-oral route, principally via contaminated water.
  • Hepatitis E is found worldwide, but the prevalence is highest in East and South Asia.
  • A vaccine to prevent hepatitis E virus infection has been developed and is licensed in China, but is not yet available elsewhere.
Hepatitis E is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV): a small virus, with a positive-sense, single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome. The virus has at least 4 different types: genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Genotypes 1 and 2 have been found only in humans. Genotype 3 and 4 viruses circulate in several animals (including pigs, wild boars, and deer) without causing any disease, and occasionally infect humans.
The virus is shed in the stools of infected persons, and enters the human body through the intestine. It is transmitted mainly through contaminated drinking water. Usually the infection is self-limiting and resolves within 2–6 weeks. Occasionally a serious disease, known as fulminant hepatitis (acute liver failure) develops, and a proportion of people with this disease can die.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs280/en/

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