Hepatitis B And C Are Infections Of The Liver

Symptoms Of Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C often doesnt have any noticeable symptoms until the liver has been significantly damaged. This means many people have the infection without realising it.

When symptoms do occur, they can be mistaken for another condition. Symptoms can include:

• flu-like symptoms, such as muscle aches and a high temperature
• feeling tired all the time
• loss of appetite

Who Is At Risk For Hepatitis C

You are more likely to get hepatitis C if you

• Have injected drugs

Other signs and symptoms for hepatitis B and D

• Abdominal discomfort
• Tan-coloured stools

All symptom for hepatitis B must be assessed and treated by a medical professional as quickly as possible to prevent an infection developing into HDV and further health complications. If you are exposed to the virus and can seek treatment within the first 24 hours following exposure, an infection can be prevented with prompt medical attention.

A HDV infection may not always display obvious symptoms but when they do, they are very similar to those of hepatitis B. Symptoms of HDV can often make those of HBV worse, which can make diagnosis a little trickier.

Other signs and symptoms for hepatitis C

• Abdominal discomfort

If there are already signs of damage to your liver, you will display the following symptoms:

Other signs and symptoms for hepatitis E

• Liver enlargement

Non-viral hepatitis signs and symptoms

Specimen Collection And Processing

Ten milliliters of venous blood were taken from each study participant at each site and was dispensed into an ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid tube and transported on dry ice to Armauer Hansen research institute , where the plasma was separated via centrifugation at 3500 rpm/ 5min, transferred into cryotubes, and stored at – 20 °C until used for HIV, HBV, and HCV serology.

Don’t Miss: Antiviral Drugs For Hepatitis A

What Is The Outlook For People With Hepatitis B

The outlook for people with HBV is better now than ever before. You are certainly able to live a full life and help yourself stay healthy. You should make sure to have regular check-ups with a healthcare provider who is qualified to treat hepatitis B, possibly a liver doctor.

Make sure you are vaccinated against hepatitis A. Check with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before taking other medications or over-the-counter products, including supplements and natural products. These could interfere with your medication or damage your liver. For instance, taking acetaminophen in large doses may harm your liver.

Follow the usual guidelines for living a healthy life:

• Eat nutritious foods, choosing from a variety of vegetables, fruits and healthy proteins. It is said that cruciferous vegetables are especially good at protecting the liver.
• Exercise regularly.
• Dont smoke and dont drink. Both tobacco and alcohol are bad for your liver.
• Do things that help you cope with stress, like journaling, talking with others, meditating and doing yoga.
• Avoid inhaling toxic fumes.

What Makes Yale Medicine’s Approach To Treating Hepatitis B And C Unique

The Viral Hepatitis Program at Yale Medicine represents one of the leading viral hepatitis treatment programs in the country and is engaged in innovative research focused on advancing the care of patients with chronic hepatitis B, C and D infections.

A multidisciplinary team of faculty physicians and mid-level providers offer a coordinated approach to preparing patients for success. Services include structured hepatitis patient education classes, mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques , a formal physician-guided weight-loss program and access to clinical trials evaluating current and new therapies that are not available in routine clinical practice.

Our program is a core member of several national and international observational cohort studies which contributes to the advancement of science of hepatitis treatment around the world.

“Our team at Yale Medicine is uniquely equipped to serve patients with viral hepatitis from Connecticut and beyond and aims to offer outstanding, individualized, patient-centered care to help educate and guide patients through their treatment,” says Dr. Lim. We have specialists who have nationally recognized expertise in the management of viral hepatitis in special populations, including HCV-HIV coinfection, end-stage renal disease, cirrhosis/liver failure, post-liver transplant, and prior failure to respond to all-oral direct acting antivirals .

You May Like: What Is The Treatment For Chronic Hepatitis B

Factors Associated With Hiv And Hiv/hbv Co

Among the risk factors, age , gender , tattoo , marital status , province , clinical status , and chronic consumption of alcoholic beverages significantly associated with the rate of HIV infection . Of the risk factors, only age exhibited a significant association with HIV/HBV co-infection frequency. About 55% and 14% of chronic liver disease patients were chronic consumers of alcohol and cigarette smokers, respectively. Consequently, chronic alcohol consumption and smoking showed a marginal association with HCC than non-HCC cases . Compared with non-HCC, older age exhibited a significant association with HCC cases .

What Laboratory Tests Are Available For Hepatitis B

Tests are available to detect the types of antigens used to identify the hepatitis B virus. The tests determine if the virus is present in the body tissue or blood. The amount of each type of antigen present indicates how advanced the disease is and how infective the individual has become.

Other tests are available to detect the bodyâs reaction to the viral infection or the bodyâs reaction to vaccination against the virus. These tests work by measuring the number of antibodies present in the blood.

Also Check: Hepatitis How Can You Get It

Serology Of Hiv And Hiv/hbv And Hiv/hcv Co

Plasma samples from all CLD patients were screened for HIV1/2, HBV, and HCV infection markers. The overall frequency of HIV infection was 4.3% , with a 2% and 0.3% of HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV co-infection rate. The overall and subgroup prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV mono- and HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV co-infection is summarized in Table 2.

Of all HIV-positive patients , 46.7%7 and 6.7%1 co-infected with HBV and HCV , respectively, and 86.7%13 exhibited a marker of HBV exposure . Broadly, our results implied a considerably higher distribution of HIV infection among subjects with past or present HBV infection.

What Are The Symptoms Of Hepatitis B And C

In most patients, hepatitis B develops slowly over the course of several decades, and thus most patients have no symptoms. People who have advanced liver disease such as cirrhosis of the liver may experience complications and symptoms that reflect liver failure. Other symptoms include:

• A buildup of fluid within the abdominal cavity
• Confusion and tremors , which are complications due to the inability of the liver to filter out toxins that are normally cleaned out by a healthy liver
• Vomiting of blood, or blood within the stool . This is a complication in which enlarged veins within the esophagus or stomach bleed as a consequence of increased pressure around the diseased liver.

Most patients with chronic hepatitis C infection report no symptoms. But some patients may have very nonspecific symptoms related to fatigue and discomfort on the right side of the abdomen. Often, symptoms that lead to a diagnosis of hepatitis C are noticeable only at the end stage of liver disease, when the patient has developed liver cirrhosis and liver failure.

Because hepatitis B and C typically have no specific symptoms, many people who have the viruses dont even know it.

Don’t Miss: Hepatitis C Quant Rna Pcr

What Are The Symptoms Of Hbv

Hepatitis B virus can cause an acute illness with symptoms that last several weeks, including yellowing of the skin and eyes , dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Most of the time HBV infection is ASYMPTOMATIC.

Joint pains, muscle aches, rash, and jaundice may occur in some people. People can take several months to a year to recover from the symptoms. These people may not know that they are infected, and may therefore not go and see a doctor. People with chronic hepatitis B infection may later develop serious problems like liver cancer and liver failure. These people may not know that they are infected, and may therefore not go and see a doctor. People with chronic hepatitis B infection may later develop serious problems like liver cancer and liver failure.

Is Hepatitis Testing Recommended For People With Hiv

Yes. Everyone with HIV should be tested for HBV and HCV when they are first diagnosed with HIV and begin treatment. People with HIV who have ongoing risk factors for getting hepatitis B or hepatitis C should be tested annually.

In addition, HCV screening recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call for:

• One-time screening for all adults 18 years and older
• Screening of all pregnant women during every pregnancy
• Testing for all persons with risk factors, with testing continued periodic testing those with ongoing risk.

Also Check: Is Hepatitis B Is Curable Or Not

How Is Hepatitis B Diagnosed

There are three main ways to diagnose HBV infection. They include:

• Blood tests: Tests of the blood serum shows how your bodys immune system is responding to the virus. A blood test can also tell you if you are immune to HBV.
• Abdominal ultrasound: An ultrasound uses sound waves to show the size and shape of your liver and how well the blood flows through it.
• Liver biopsy: A small sample of your liver tissue is removed though a tiny incision and sent to a lab for analysis.

The blood test that is used to diagnose hepatitis B is not a test that you get routinely during a medical visit. Often, people whove become infected first learn they have hepatitis B when they go to donate blood. Blood donations are routinely scanned for the infection.

The virus can be detected within 30 to 60 days of infection. About 70% of adults with hepatitis B develop symptoms, which tend to appear an average of 90 days after initial exposure to the virus.

Benefits Of Early Detection Or Treatment

The USPSTF found no direct evidence on the benefits of HCV screening vs no screening on health outcomes or the effects of prenatal HCV screening on the risk of vertical transmission.1 Treatment studies focused on populations without cirrhosis who are more likely to be asymptomatic and identified by screening. Of the trials of DAA regimens , 14 were multinational 11 were conducted in the US or Canada and the remainder were conducted in New Zealand, Egypt, France, or Asia. In 29 trials, 60% to 100% of patients were white.1 The trials evaluated a variety of DAA regimens recommended in current guidelines. Treatment duration was 12 weeks in all but 2 trials, which allocated patients to either 8 or 12 weeks of treatment. Eleven trials were of good quality and 22 were of fair quality. Forty-nine trials found DAA regimens to be associated with pooled SVR rates ranging from 95.5% to 98.9% across genotypes. Evidence was greatest for genotype 1 infection , the most frequent genotype in the US.1 Sustained virologic response rates were similar in trials that stratified patients according to age, sex, race/ethnicity, or treatment experience with non-DAA regimens.1

You May Like: Can Hepatitis C Turn Into Hiv

How Is It Treated

Hepatitis A is treated using supportive methods. These can include things like rest, fluids, and healthy foods. Medications can also help to ease some symptoms like fever, aches, and pains.

Theres a vaccine available to protect against infection with HAV. This is typically recommended for children as well as for people at an increased risk for contracting the virus.

Also, receiving a single dose of the hepatitis A vaccine may prevent you from becoming ill if youve been exposed to HAV. For it to be effective, the vaccine needs to be given of exposure.

How Are Hepatitis B And C Diagnosed

Hepatitis B is diagnosed by a series of blood tests. The test may show an ongoing infection or antibodies that indicate that the patient is protected against hepatitis B. In patients who have a positive screening test that suggests the possibility of ongoing infection, further testing is done to determine the levels of the virus in the bloodstream.

Hepatitis C is diagnosed via a blood test called a Hepatitis C Antibody Test. A positive result means that hepatitis C antibodies are present in the blood. But a positive antibody test doesnt necessarily mean a person has hepatitis C. A further blood test is needed to confirm the diagnosis. This second blood test quantifies the amount of the virus or the viral load in the liver and the bloodstream.

Recommended Reading: Hepatitis B Virus Symptoms And Treatment

Sample Collection And Processing

Three to five milliliters of blood were drawn from adults and 2 to 3 mls from children below 5 years by venipuncture under aseptic techniques into a sterile vacutainer. In the laboratory, the patient identification number on the specimen container was cross checked with that on the patients requisition form to ensure that the correct specimen was received. The quality of the sample was also checked. Samples were left on the bench for 2 hours to clot and retract. Blood was then centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 10 minutes and two aliquots of 1.0 ml serum were harvested into Eppendorff tubes labeled with patient identification number. One aliquot was immediately taken to the biochemistry lab for alanine aminotransferase liver enzyme measurement and other stored at 80°C until time of assay for HBsAg and HCV antibody.

Where Is Hbv Most Common

Hepatitis B is endemic in China and other parts of Asia. Most people in the region become infected with HBV during childhood.

In these regions, 8% to 10% of the adult population are chronically infected. Liver cancer caused by HBV is among the first three causes of death from cancer in men, and a major cause of cancer in women. High rates of chronic infections are also found in the Amazon and the southern parts of eastern and central Europe. In the Middle East and Indian sub-continent, an estimated 2% to 5% of the general population is chronically infected. Less than 1% of the population in western Europe and North American is chronically infected.

Also Check: Hepatitis A And B Vaccine

What Are The Risk Factors For Getting Hepatitis B

Due to the way that hepatitis B spreads, people most at risk for getting infected include:

• Children whose mothers have been infected with hepatitis B.
• Children who have been adopted from countries with high rates of hepatitis B infection.
• People who have unprotected sex and/or have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection.
• People who live with or work in an institutional setting, such as prisons or group homes.
• Healthcare providers and first responders.
• People who share needles or syringes.
• People who live in close quarters with a person with chronic hepatitis B infection.
• People who are on dialysis.

Facts About Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus . HCV can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis infection, ranging in severity from a mild illness that lasts only a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness resulting in cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The virus is mainly acquired by contact through broken skin with infectious blood. In Europe, the main route of HCV transmission is via injecting drug use as a result of sharing contaminated needles. More rarely, the virus can be transmitted sexually, in healthcare settings due to inadequate infection control practices or perinatally from an infected mother to the baby.

A silent disease with no symptoms

Most people with acute HCV infection do not have any symptoms. Those who develop chronic infection are often asymptomatic until decades after infection when symptoms develop secondary to serious liver damage.

Around 30% of people with chronic hepatitis C suffer from liver damage and a small number of those develop cancer. Hepatitis C is considered to be one of the leading causes of liver cancer and liver transplants in Europe.

HCV: no vaccine but a cure

The infection can be cured, especially if it is detected and treated with the appropriate antiviral drug combinations. Antiviral treatment can now cure over 90% of persons with HCV infection.

Recommended Reading: What Happens To Your Body When You Have Hepatitis C

How Serious Is It

• People can be sick for a few weeks to a few months
• Most recover with no lasting liver damage
• Although very rare, death can occur

• 15%25% of chronically infected people develop chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer

• More than 50% of people who get infected with the hepatitis C virus develop a chronic infection
• 5%-25% of people with chronic hepatitis C develop cirrhosis over 1020 years

How Is It Spread

Hepatitis A is spread when a person ingests fecal mattereven in microscopic amountsfrom contact with objects, food, or drinks contaminated by feces or stool from an infected person.

• Birth to an infected mother
• Sex with an infected person
• Sharing equipment that has been contaminated with blood from an infected person, such as needles, syringes, and even medical equipment, such as glucose monitors
• Sharing personal items such as toothbrushes or razors
• Poor infection control has resulted in outbreaks in health care facilities

Hepatitis C is spread when blood from a person infected with the Hepatitis C virus even in microscopic amounts enters the body of someone who is not infected. The hepatitis C virus can also be transmitted from:

• Sharing equipment that has been contaminated with blood from an infected person, such as needles and syringes
• Receiving a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992
• Poor infection control has resulted in outbreaks in health care facilities
• Birth to an infected mother

Don’t Miss: Who Is At Risk For Hepatitis B