World Hepatitis Day — July 28th

 

Preventing Perinatal Hepatitis B Transmission Hepatitis B is a significant global health threat and common in many parts of the world, with approximately 240 million worldwide infected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Chronic hepatitis B infection causes an estimated 780,000 deaths worldwide each year. Many people with chronic hepatitis B were infected at birth or during early childhood, which increases the chance of a chronic, or lifelong, illness. Over time, chronic hepatitis B can cause serious health problems including liver cancer and liver failure.   Preventing Hepatitis B Hepatitis B is spread when blood or other body fluids from an infected person enters the body of another person. A pregnant woman who has hepatitis B can pass the virus to her infant at birth without timely intervention. In fact, 90% of infected infants develop a lifelong infection, and an estimated one-fourth of them will die prematurely. To address this public health concern, all pregnant women in the United States and many other countries are now routinely screened for hepatitis B. If a pregnant woman has hepatitis B, health care providers take extra effort to make sure her newborn gets timely vaccination to prevent this deadly disease. Completing the vaccine series can prevent transmission of the virus in over 90% of infants born to infected women. To protect every infant from potential infection, CDC recommends all babies get the first shot in the hepatitis B vaccine series before leaving the hospital, and completing the vaccine series as recommended.    Vaccination is Saving Lives In the United States and many parts of the world, widespread infant vaccination programs have led to dramatic declines of new hepatitis B cases.  As of 2013, the World Health Organization reported that 183 Member States vaccinated infants against hepatitis B as part of their vaccination schedules, resulting in an average of 81% of children in these countries receiving the hepatitis B vaccine.  This is a tremendous increase from the 31 countries who did in 1992, the year that the World Health Assembly passed a resolution to recommend global vaccination against hepatitis B. WHO estimates that since the introduction of routine infant vaccination in 1982, millions of premature deaths due to liver disease have been prevented.   More Information World Hepatitis Day resource page Frequently Asked Questions about perinatal Hepatitis B Technical information on Perinatal Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B screening now recommended for high risk individuals

 

June 5, 2014

Loyola University Health System

A simple blood test can detect if a person is one of the two billion people worldwide infected with hepatitis B. And now experts recommend that all teens and adults who are high risk for hepatitis B get screened for the infection. “Many people with hepatitis B do not show any symptoms so they are not diagnosed which means they keep transmitting the disease to others,” says a board certified hepatologist.

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A simple blood test can detect if a person is one of the two billion people worldwide infected with hepatitis B. And now the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all teens and adults who are high risk for hepatitis B get screened for the infection.

"Many people with hepatitis B do not show any symptoms so they are not diagnosed which means they keep transmitting the disease to others," says Steve Scaglione, MD, board certified hepatologist at Loyola University Health System. Hepatologists are specialists in treating liver disease. "Increased screening means the disease is diagnosed earlier, treated earlier and better controlled."

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease that is passed from person to person through blood and bodily fluids. There are two varieties of the disease: acute hepatitis B causes illness for a short term before recovery. Chronic hepatitis B is ongoing and can cause life-threatening liver damage.

"Advancements in treatment for hepatitis B are bring made but prevention and early diagnosis are still the best route for public health," says Scaglione, who regularly treats hepatitis B patients at Loyola.

According to the Hepatitis B Foundation, up to 100,000 people in the United States get the virus each year, and 10 million to 30 million people in the world are infected.

Treatment for hepatitis B ranges from antiviral medication to stop the virus from multiplying to liver transplantation in cases of extreme illness. Hepatitis B can be transmitted if you:

• Have sex with an infected person without using a condom.

• Share needles (used for injecting drugs) with an infected person.

• Get a tattoo or piercing with tools that weren't sterilized.

• Share personal items like razors or toothbrushes with an infected person

Individuals considered to be high risk for hepatitis B and who are recommended to be screened include:

• Adolescents and adults not vaccinated for Hepatitis B at birth.

• People born in countries with a high rate of hepatitis B infection. These include Africa, Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, China, the Middle Eastern, Eastern Europe and the northern countries of South America such as Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.

• People whose parents were born in countries with a high rate of infection.

• People with HIV.

• People who inject drugs.

• Men who have sex with men.

• People who live with or have sex with someone with hepatitis B.

• Patients with weakened immune systems or who are receiving kidney dialysis.

A mother infected with hepatitis B can transmit the disease to her baby. Medication can be given to the child to prevent the infection from spreading.

Symptoms of hepatitis B include:

• Feeling very tired.

• Mild fever.

• Headache.

• Not wanting to eat.

• Feeling sick to your stomach or vomiting.

• Belly pain.

• Diarrhea or constipation.

• Muscle aches and joint pain.

• Skin rash.

• Yellowish eyes and skin (jaundice). Jaundice usually appears only after other symptoms have started to go away.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Loyola University Health System. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.