HEPATITIS is the medical name for inflammation of the liver. Long term heavy drinking and drug overdose – such as too much Paracetamol – can result in hepatitis, but the most common cause is a viral infection (viral hepatitis) and hepatitis viruses A, B and C are the main culprits.
Ex-Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson announced two years ago that she had been infected with Hepatitis C after sharing a tattoo needle with then husband Tommy Lee.
The disease is spread by coming into contact with the blood of an infected person, it’s easy to pick it up by sharing needles to inject drugs, or using body piercing and tattooing needles that.
Having unprotected sex with Hepatitis C sufferer can also transmit the virus through the body fluids. The worrying aspect of this virus is that it can lie dormant for several years before it starts to cause serious liver damage such as cirrhosis or cancer of the liver, and unfortunately many thousands of people just don’t realise they have it until its picked up through natural screening via a blood test.
Poor Pamela, her misfortune in contracting Hepatitis C has highlighted this most prolific form of the disease and the prediction is that within the next ten years the death toll will easily triple eclipsing that of AIDS, and – unlike the A and B – viruses there’s currently no vaccine available for Hepatitis C.
In the UK alone there are estimated to be in the region of 400,000 known cases of people infected with Hepatitis C.
Around one in five sufferers manage to clear the virus from their system within six months without having any symptoms, but for the rest, the disease carries on, progressing slowly – often without symptoms for up to 30 years. Many will be lucky and experience only a mild inflammation of the liver, which never goes on to develop further, but 10 to 20 per cent will end up with cirrhosis.
If you thought that a diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver was solely the result of alcoholism or regular heavy binge drinking, the harsh reality is that the sweet old Aunty who only quaffed a single glass of spirits at weddings and who died of cirrhosis, was in all probability not a secret Gin drinker, but her demise was the direct long term consequence of untreated Hepatitis.
These days a person diagnosed with Hepatitis C can be given medication to halt any further liver damage, but again like all diseases early diagnosis gives a more optimistic prognosis.
Its not just Hepatitis C that’s a major health problem. The B virus is also virulent, with the World Health Organisation estimating that about one third of the world’s population has been infected with this virus at one time in their lives. Like the C virus, it can take many years before it causes serious damage to the liver.
The highest risk areas for contracting the virus include south East Asia, Middle and Far East and Africa. The B virus is passed on through blood, saliva, semen and vaginal fluid; hence the continued heavy emphasis in these regions for the population to practice safe sex at all times. Treatment for Hepatitis A is rest, lots of fluids and no alcohol. Rest is also important for Hepatitis B,and those infected for more than six months may need to take the antiviral drug Interferon, which is injected three times a week for at least three months.
Sufferers of Hepatitis C will be put on Interferon Alpha and the antiviral Ribavirin drugs, or a modified version of pegylated interferon which is a modified version of standard interferon. In extreme cases a liver transplant may be the only answer.
The A virus is least likely to cause liver damage and its quite rare in Europe but people are still at risk if they travel to Southern Europe, Africa or the Middle and Far East, it’s common in places where the quality of the water supplies and sewage disposal is suspect, and where personal and food hygiene standards are poor.
The virus is passed on by eating contaminated food or drinking water. Contracting Hepatitis A is not fatal, but it can be jolly unpleasant, causing flu like symptoms for a week or so and in some cases an attack of jaundice. You can be vaccinated against A and B so if travelling in any of the regions mentioned it’s safer and sensible to get a vaccination six weeks before you travel then have a booster injection six to 12 months later.
The old tried and tested rules also exist when travelling in a high risk country, don’t drink tap water or have ice in drinks, avoid uncooked dishes, unpeeled fruit, ice cream, unpasteurised milk and of course shellfish and consider holding off on the tattoo.
