How To Get Rid Of Hepatitis B

Prevent Infection After Contact With The Virus

If you think you have been in contact with the hepatitis B virus, see your doctor right away. Doctors typically recommend a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine to prevent infection. In some cases, doctors may also recommend a medicine called hepatitis B immune globulin to help prevent infection. You must get the vaccine dose and, if needed, HBIG shortly after coming into contact with the virus, preferably within 24 hours.

Who Is More Likely To Get Hepatitis B

People are more likely to get hepatitis B if they are born to a mother who has hepatitis B. The virus can spread from mother to child during birth. For this reason, people are more likely to have hepatitis B if they

• were born in a part of the world where 2 percent or more of the population has hepatitis B infection
• were born in the United States, didnt receive the hepatitis B vaccine as an infant, and have parents who were born in an area where 8 percent or more of the population had hepatitis B infection

People are also more likely to have hepatitis B if they

• are infected with HIV, because hepatitis B and HIV spread in similar ways
• have lived with or had sex with someone who has hepatitis B
• have had more than one sex partner in the last 6 months or have a history of sexually transmitted disease
• are men who have sex with men
• are injection drug users
• work in a profession, such as health care, in which they have contact with blood, needles, or body fluids at work
• live or work in a care facility for people with developmental disabilities
• have been on kidney dialysis
• live or work in a prison
• had a blood transfusion or organ transplant before the mid-1980s

In the United States, hepatitis B spreads among adults mainly through contact with infected blood through the skin, such as during injection drug use, and through sexual contact.12

How Do People Get The Hbv Virus

Hepatitis B virus is found in the blood of people with HBV infection. It enters the body through blood-to-blood contact.

Reliable blood tests for HBV were developed many years ago. Since blood donors and blood products are tested for HBV, this is no longer the typical means of infection.

In many parts of the world, hepatitis B virus infects more than 8% of the population. HBV-infected women pass the infection to their babies during the birth process. People can also get hepatitis B by sharing needles for injection drug use, through sexual contact with an infected person, by an accidental needlestick with a contaminated needle, or from improperly sterilized medical, acupuncture, piercing, or tattooing equipment.

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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.

Acute Hepatitis B Symptoms

There are three phases of acute hepatitis B infection, and symptoms may differ depending on the stage. Early in the disease, called the prodromal phase, symptoms may include:

• Fever

• Dark urine and light stool color

During the icteric phase:

• Jaundice develops
• Anorexia, nausea and vomiting may worsen
• Irritated skin lesions may develop
• Other symptoms may subside

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How Do My Healthcare Professional And I Decide On Treatment

Your healthcare professional will look at your health history and decide if treatment is right for you. The treatment you receive and the length of treatment may depend on:

• how much virus is in your body
• your genotype of hep C
• whether you have liver damage
• whether or not youve been treated previously

Next:

Can A Transplant Cure Hepatitis C

If you develop chronic hepatitis C and it leads to liver cancer or liver failure, you may need a liver transplant. Hepatitis C is one of the most common reasons for a liver transplant.

A liver transplant removes a damaged liver and replaces it with a healthy one. However, theres a high likelihood that the hepatitis C virus will be transmitted to the new liver in time.

The virus lives in your bloodstream, not just your liver. Removing your liver wont cure the disease.

If you have active hepatitis C, continued damage to your new liver is very likely, especially if hepatitis C remains untreated.

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How Is Hepatitis B Prevented

Testing & Vaccination

• The hepatitis B vaccine offers excellent protection against HBV. The vaccine is safe and highly effective. Vaccination consists of 3 doses of vaccine over the course of 6 months. Protection lasts for 20 years to life.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children should receive hepatitis B vaccine starting at birth. .
• The CDC recommends hepatitis B vaccine for persons traveling to countries where HBV is common .
• If you have one or more risk factors for hepatitis B infection, you should get a simple HBV blood test. The blood test will determine whether you are:
• immune to hepatitis B or
• susceptible to hepatitis B and need vaccination or
• infected with hepatitis B and need further evaluation by a physician

Perinatal Hepatitis

• California law requires testing of all pregnant women for hepatitis B infection
• If the mother is HBV-infected, she will pass the infection to the baby during the birth process, unless the baby gets immunized within hours of birth
• Giving the infant HBIG and HBV vaccine right away will reliably prevent infection of the infant
• Other family members should best tested for hepatitis B too, and given vaccine if they are not already infected or immune

Healthy Habits

After Exposure to Hepatitis B

European Commission And Thervacb Join Forces

The role of viral hepatitis as a public health threat has long been underestimated. Only very recently, the United Nations in their 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development called for international action to combat viral hepatitis and reduce the disease burden. The major killer is the hepatitis B virus causing liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Worldwide 880,000 humans die each year from the consequences of an HBV infection.

A prophylactic vaccine is available to prevent HBV infection, but more than 3% of the worlds population are chronically infected and do not profit from that vaccine anymore. For those suffering from chronic hepatitis B, until today no curative treatment option exists.

The European Commission therefore selected the project TherVacB led by Helmholtz Zentrum München for a five-year funding within the Horizon 2020 program. A consortium of leading virologists, immunologists and physicians specialized in treating viral hepatitis, will use a newly designed therapeutic vaccine, TherVacB, as an immunotherapy to cure HBV. TherVacB will be evaluated in a three-year clinical trial starting in 2022 conducted in Europe and in Africa. Integration of a partner site in Tanzania shall help building local capacities for diagnosing and treating hepatitis B and support an important goal of the consortium to raise awareness for hepatitis B.

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Causes Of Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is spread through contact with blood that contains the hepatitis B virus. If infected blood or body fluids enter another persons bloodstream, that person may become infected.

The time from exposure to the hepatitis B virus to the appearance of the illness is 45 to 180 days.

Risky activities that can cause infection include:

• Sharing unsterile or unclean equipment for injecting drugs.
• Piercing the skin with equipment that is not properly cleaned, disinfected and sterilised.
• Sharing razor blades or toothbrushes.
• Coming into contact with infected blood through open cuts or the mucous membranes of another person.
• Having unprotected sex , especially if there is blood present.

Mothers who have hepatitis B can pass the virus to their babies or children at the time of birth or after birth. If the newborn baby is quickly immunised with 2 vaccines, they can be protected from getting hepatitis B.

All blood and blood products produced for medical purposes in Australia are carefully screened for hepatitis B and other blood-borne viruses. The risk of getting infected with hepatitis B from a blood transfusion is extremely low .

Ayurvedic Medicines For Hepatitis B By Planet Ayurveda

Planet Ayurveda has provided us with an herbal combo pack known as “Liver Care pack”, which contains a blend of various natural herbs. It is free from any harmful preservative, additive and chemical compounds. The all the products of Liver Care Pack contains natural extract of herb such as Indian Echinacea, Bhumi Amla , Katuki , Makoy , Punarnava , Kaasni , Bhringraj etc.

DOSAGE

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How Can I Prevent Spreading Hepatitis C To Others

If you have hepatitis C, follow the steps above to avoid spreading the infection. Tell your sex partner you have hepatitis C, and talk with your doctor about safe sex practices. In addition, you can protect others from infection by telling your doctor, dentist, and other health care providers that you have hepatitis C. Dont donate blood or blood products, semen, organs, or tissue.

Living With Hepatitis B

If you have hepatitis, you should:

• avoid having unprotected sex, including anal and oral sex, unless you’re sure your partner has been vaccinated against hepatitis B
• avoid sharing needles used to inject drugs with other people
• take precautions to avoid the spread of infection, such as not sharing toothbrushes or razors with other people
• eat a generally healthy, balanced diet there’s no special diet for people with hepatitis B
• avoid drinking alcohol this can increase your risk of developing serious liver problems
• speak to your doctor if you’re thinking of having a baby

People with hepatitis B can usually have a healthy pregnancy, but it’s a good idea to discuss your plans with a doctor first as you may need extra care and your medications may need to be changed.

There’s a risk of pregnant women with hepatitis B passing the infection on to their child around the time of the birth, but this risk can be reduced by ensuring the baby is vaccinated shortly after they’re born.

Page last reviewed: 30 January 2019 Next review due: 30 January 2022

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What Should You Know About Pregnancy And Hepatitis B

A pregnant woman who has hepatitis B can pass the infection to her baby at delivery. This is true for both vaginal and cesarean deliveries.

You should ask your healthcare provider to test you for hepatitis B when you find out you are pregnant. However, while it is important for you and your healthcare provider to know if you do have hepatitis B, the condition should not affect the way that your pregnancy progresses.

If you do test positive, your provider may suggest that you contact another healthcare provider, a liver doctor, who is skilled in managing people with hepatitis B infections. You may have a high viral load and may need treatment during the last 3 months of your pregnancy. A viral load is the term for how much of the infection you have inside of you.

You can prevent your infant from getting hepatitis B infection by making sure that your baby gets the hepatitis B vaccine in the hours after they are born along with the hepatitis B immunoglobulin. These two shots are given in two different locations on the baby. They are the first shots needed.

Depending on the type of vaccine used, two or three more doses must be given, usually when the baby is 1 month old and then 6 months old, with the last by the time the baby is 1 year old. It is critical that all newborns get the hepatitis B vaccination, but even more important if you have hepatitis B yourself.

Hepatitis B And Pregnancy

If youâre pregnant, you might pass the virus to your baby at birth. Itâs less likely to happen during your pregnancy.

If your baby gets the virus and isnât treated, they could have long-term liver problems. All newborns with infected mothers should get hepatitis B immune globulin and the vaccine for hepatitis at birth and during their first year of life.

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How Common Is Hepatitis B

The number of people who get this disease is down, the CDC says. Rates have dropped from an average of 200,000 per year in the 1980s to around 20,000 in 2016. People between the ages of 20 and 49 are most likely to get it.

About 90% of infants and 25-50% of children between the ages of 1-5 will become chronically infected. In adults, approximately 95% will recover completely and will not go on to have a chronic infection.

As many as 1.2 million people in the U.S. are carriers of the virus.

Maoto Suppresses Hepatitis B Virus Production In The Context Of Infection

Next, we examined the relevance of the inhibitory effect of maoto on HBV production in the context of HBV infection using HepG2-NTCP cells and primary human hepatocytes isolated from PXB-mice . HepG2-NTCP cells and PXB-cells were infected with HBV at 2×103 GEq/cell and treated with maoto at the indicated concentrations . The effects of maoto on HBV were evaluated at 6 and 9 days of maoto treatment in HepG2-NTCP cells and at 11 days of the treatment in PXB-cells . As shown in Figure 3B and Figure S1B, maoto did not exhibit any cytotoxicity to HepG2-NTCP cells and PXB-cells. We then found that maoto treatment resulted in dose-dependent suppression of extracellular HBV DNA production without affecting HBeAg expression, similar to the effects in HepAD38.7 cells . The IC50 of the maoto extract to inhibit HBV production was 33.2 ± 5.6 µg/ml in HepG2-NTCP cells and 7.5 ± 5.4 µg/ml in PXB-cells . These results confirmed the relevance of the inhibitory effect of maoto on HBV in the context of HBV infection.

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How Far Have We Got

Some exciting research is underway around the world, including the recent identification of the cell receptor which allows the virus to infect the body. This has enabled studies of the complete virus replication cycle including the viral reservoir that is untouched by current therapies.

New approaches to a possible cure include mechanisms to block the virus entry into the cell and to stop the virus from making the proteins it needs to replicate and infect new cells.

Studies are also underway to enhance patients immune responses so their own natural defences can control or even eliminate the virus. This is similar to immunotherapies already being used to treat some cancers.

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Its likely a hepatitis B cure will require a dual-pronged approach, directly targeting the virus while also enhancing the immune response in people who are infected.

The goal is to reduce the amount of virus in the body and restore the persons immune responses. This is called a functional cure and is similar to what happens when a person naturally gets rid of the virus. It would also mean they didnt need to take drugs any more.

Some of these approaches are now in early stage human clinical trials. More than 30 drugs have been developed and are being tested in people with chronic hepatitis B. However, much more work needs to be done to achieve a cure.

How Can I Prevent Spreading Hepatitis B To Others

If you have hepatitis B, follow the steps above to avoid spreading the infection. Your sex partners should get a hepatitis B test and, if they arent infected, get the hepatitis B vaccine. You can protect others from getting infected by telling your doctor, dentist, and other health care professionals that you have hepatitis B. Dont donate blood or blood products, semen, organs, or tissue.

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Treatment For Chronic Hbv Infection

For chronic HBV infection, antiviral medications are available.

This is not a cure for chronic HBV. However, it can stop the virus from replicating and prevent its progression into advanced liver disease.

A person with a chronic HBV infection can develop cirrhosis or liver cancer rapidly and without warning. If a person does not have access to adequate treatment or facilities, liver cancer can be fatal within months of diagnosis.

People with a chronic HBV infection require ongoing medical evaluation and an ultrasound of the liver

How Is Hepatitis B Diagnosed

Hepatitis B can be diagnosed with blood tests to detect the presence of the hepatitis B virus or antibodies to the virus. During the early stages of acute hepatitis B blood tests may show changes in your liver function.If you are at higher risk of getting hepatitis B, get tested. If you are pregnant, you should also get tested as part of antenatal blood testing. Read more about hepatitis B and pregnancy.

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