World Hepatitis Day is observed on July 28 to spread global awareness about the disease that is caused globally by five separate viruses
As World Hepatitis Day is observed today, it is important to understand this disease. Hepatitis is a disease that affects the health of our liver. It is of many kinds. Understanding the risks of causes of hepatitis can help us reduce our risk of catching these diseases.
Along with understanding the causes, we must also understand the various ways in which we can lower our risks of Hepatitis. In this article, we discuss various factors that cause hepatitis and also simple ways through which we can lower our chances of getting hepatitis.
1. Hepatitis A
)
Hepatitis A is spread by eating food or drinking water contaminated with infected faeces. Close contact with an infected individual along with the consumption of raw shellfish are common sources of infection as well. The virus causes 1.4 million cases a year across the world.
Common symptoms include fatigue, fever, nausea, appetite loss, jaundice, diarrhoea, acholic faeces, and abdominal discomfort. Joint pain is also common as a symptom.
Hepatitis A can be prevented through a vaccine that is administered below the age of 10, that gives protection for up to 20 years.
2. Hepatitis B
)
Unlike hepatitis A, hepatitis B is spread through blood or body fluids. As a result, the infection is mostly spread at the time of contact with blood or through contact with the blood of an infected individual during childhood. Other common ways of spreading the infection are intravenous drug use and sexual intercourse.
Symptoms depend on whether an individual is infected with acute or chronic infection of hepatitis B. Acute infections is often associated with the rapid onset of symptoms such as vomiting, yellowish skin, tiredness, dark urine, abdominal pain and eventually jaundice.
3. Hepatitis C
)
Similar to hepatitis B, hepatitis C spreads through blood-to-blood contact. This is primarily seen in either blood transfusion in poorer countries and intravenous drug use in developed countries. Other rarer sources of transmission include organ transplants, sexual intercourse, tattooing, sharing of items such as razors, toothbrushes, and manicuring or pedicuring implements.
Fatigue, nausea and vomiting, fever, muscle or joint pains, abdominal pain, decreased appetite and weight loss, jaundice, dark urine, and clay-coloured stools are some of the symptoms seen.
4. How can we reduce the risks of Hepatitis?
)
There are various vaccines available for various kinds of hepatitis that can be taken.
