any insights about hepatitis B?
99588
Some people can clear the virus naturally (immune system) and have evidence of past infection, but do not have ongoing viral replication (detectable hepatitis viral load).  In fact, most people infected as adults are able to clear the virus (about 85% clear the infection when infected as an adult).  Newborns and children are often unable to clear the infection, leading to risk of disease progression.\n\nThere are vaccines available for Hepatitis B so the numbers of new infections are declining.\n\nThere are treatments for Hepatitis B - these include Pegasys, a pegylated interferon medicine that is injected under the skin once weekly or oral agents.  The oral agents include Entecavir (Baraclude) or Adefovir (Hepsera).  A new agent is being studied - Telbivudine.\n\nThere are different types of Hepatitis B:  eAg-positive and eAg-negative.  This impacts how long patients receive treatment.  Typically eAg-positive patients are treated until the virus is no longer detectable plus about 6-12 months and then the medicine can be stopped.  eAg-negative patients usually are treated for life.\n\nTalk with your doctor to find more information.
222981
Vertical transmission (from mother to baby) is one of common routes of transmission of viral hepatitis B. However, the newborn will only get infection during the labour. Therefore, giving IMMUNOGLOBULIN against HBV at birth will prevent infection of the newborn (the same method is given to those medical professionals have needle-prick injury from HBV patient). Of course, the infant should also be given with HBV vaccine at birth, 1 month and 6 months old.\nDon't worry about it. Contact your obstetrican and he/she will arrange it!
109374
If you do not see any side effects count your blessings. We still do not know if that is the reason our 8 year old son (developmentall under 1) Has the problems he has. He is adopted and his mother tested hep B positive at birth so he was given I belive 2 mega hep B vacines plus I think a regular one also.
27332
Go check out this support group on yahoo; it is for autoimmune hepatitis and it has over 200 members signed up. They seem fairly active in their message posting.\nhttp://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autoimmune_Hepatitis/\n\nI don't have hepatitis, but I have a bad kidney disease that seems to be autoimmune. Had a kidney transplant in March.\n\nTake care.
675453
There is only A, B and C. No D and E that I'm aware of...\n\nGo to this site for more information. I guess there is Hepatitis D & E: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/viralhepatitis/\n\nThat I decided to research with one of the handy internet search engines everybody has access to by putting "hepatitis d and e" in the search term input box.
505854
Hep C: \n\nIn April of 1989, the discovery of the virus, re-named hepatitis C virus, was published in two articles in Science.\n\nWas discovered by Dr Matthew Hoare \n\nHep A & B:\n\nAlthough hepatitis has been known for centuries, before World War II doctors did not know that it was caused by a virus. It was assumed to be contagious because epidemics of hepatitis often occurred in crowded, unsanitary conditions, but how it was passed from person to person was a mystery.\n\nHeadway into solving the mystery was made in the 1940s by a British doctor, F. O. MacCallum, who specialized in liver disease. He was concerned not so much with hepatitis as with the extremely deadly yellow fever transmitted by mosquitoes, which was killing soldiers in Africa and South America. Charged with the production of a yellow fever vaccine, MacCallum was perplexed as to why a sizable proportion of soldiers who received the yellow fever vaccine developed hepatitis a few months later. The yellow fever vaccine contained human serum, and MacCallum was aware of other hepatitis cases reported in the medical literature that followed inoculation with vaccines containing human serum. He also knew of cases that followed the reuse of unsterilized syringes and needles in the treatment of diabetes or venereal disease, instruments that could contain particles of blood. MacCallum came to suspect that a virus carried in human blood could cause hepatitis.\n\nA series of observations of volunteers by MacCallum and others during and shortly after the war strengthened that hypothesis and made it clear that hepatitis can also be spread by other means than through blood. MacCallum coined the term hepatitis A for the form of the disease that is spread primarily through food and water contaminated with minute quantities of fecal material and the term hepatitis B for the form that is transmitted mainly by exposure to contaminated blood.
529673
The acute illness usually subsides after 2 to 3 weeks, and the liver returns to normal within 16 weeks. 10% of people infected may develop chronic hepatitis. There is a higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in those who have had hepatitis B virus infection than in the general population. Hepatitis B is fatal in approximately 1% of cases of acute hepatitis B. If treatment is followed, the prognosis is good.
229707
Hepatitis is an inflamation of the liver.\nIt is contracted in the same way HIV is- contact with infected bidily fluids. ie: sexually, blood to blood.\nShortly after contracting it you may have a mild flu type symptoms- fatigue, body aches etc. The symptoms are generally mild and not serious enough to take you to a doctor. The infection can then be asymptomatic for many years even decades, all the time damaging your liver and you have no idea.\nWhen you are eventually feeling ill enough to go to the doctor the liver is generally so damaged that there is nothing to be done. At this stage you may be jaundised (yellow tint to the skin cause by excess bilirubin) nauseated or vomiting, greatly fatigues.\nhep C will eventually cause your liver to have chirrosis, it will eventually fail and you will die, it is fatal.\nJust for a heads up one of the most common causes of Hep C is body piercing.\nUse precautions when having sex, use a condom, do not get body piercing, if someone elses bodily fluids splash into an area that you have a break in the skin get tested and have the person whos fluid splashed tested also. If the first test is negative, don't stop there keep getting retested for up to a year to be sure the virus isnt in your system.
269756
As of now, several answers to your questions are unknown. While this disease has been in the news for quite a while, it is still a new disease, and we don't know much about it yet. Only time will tell what is going to happen, and what the effects of this disease are.\n\nHere is what is known about it:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_flu
623366
Hepatitis A (HAV) is transmitted through oral-fecal contact. Acute HAV usually has an acute phase that lasts from 4-6 weeks with or without jaundice, fatigue and hepatomeglia.\n\nHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a considerable health problem worldwide and a significant cause of liver disease and liver cancer in humans. \n\nLittle data is available about hepatitis C. It has only been in the last several years that we could test for the presence of HCV through the use of PCR RNA testing.
1052678
I would get a second opinion..I am a nurse and know of several patients who contracted Hep B and converted on their own..took about a month for the symptoms to leave then about three more months to convert to developing a immunity to the Hep B..this doesn't mean that everyone who is exposed converts..some may be carriers the rest of their lives..I would still contact the CDC and also another physician for other resources...
249456
It is an obsolete term for hepatitis type B virus. It is a virus that causes inflammation of the liver
134921
Go to PubMed and search for hepatitis and children:\n\nhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
1059968
Hepatitis A \n\nHow you get it: Eating food or drinking water contaminated with feces, or the bowel movement (BM), from a person infected with the hepatitis A virus (HAV). It can also be caused by anal-oral contact. Some examples include: \nEating food contaminated by a person with hepatitis A who prepares food. It can happen if the person did not wash his hands after using the bathroom and then touched the food. \nFrom infected household members or sexual partners \nDiaper changing tables, if not cleaned properly \nEating raw selfish that came from sewage-contaminated water \nWhat it does to your body: While it can cause swelling of the liver, it doesn't normally cause permanent liver damage. \nTreatment: It usually gets better on its own. Almost everyone who gets hepatitis A gets better. \nPrevention: \nGet the hepatitis A vaccine. The vaccine is given in two doses, 6 to 18 months apart. The vaccine is recommended for the following groups: \nTravelers to areas with high rates of hepatitis A \nMen who have sex with men \nInjecting and non-injecting drug users \nPersons with clotting factor disorders, like hemophilia \nPeople with chronic liver disease \nChildren who live in areas that had historically high rates of hepatitis A from 1987-1997 \nGet an immune globulin (IG) shot for short-term protection. If you’re traveling to a place where hepatitis A is common and leaving in less than 4 weeks, an IG shot can temporarily keep you from getting the virus. An IG shot can also be given within 2 weeks after exposure to hepatitis A. \nBe careful about drinking the tap water when traveling internationally. \nWash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet, changing a diaper, and before preparing and eating food. \nPeople who get hepatitis A once will not get it again. \nHepatitis B\n\nHow you get it: Contact with a person infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). This can occur through having sex with an infected person, from an infected mother to her baby during childbirth, or through sharing needles with an infected person. \nWhat it does to your body: The liver swells, and liver damage can occur. Most people will get rid of the virus after a few months. Some people are not able to get rid of the virus, which makes the infection chronic, or life-long. This may lead to a scarring of the liver, called cirrhosis, liver failure, and can also lead to liver cancer. \nTreatment: Acute hepatitis B usually gets better on its own. Most people develop immunity to the virus and after recovery, can’t give it to others. Someone with chronic (long-term) hepatitis B still carries the virus and can pass it to others. Chronic hepatitis B can be treated with the drugs interferon, lamivudine, or adefovir. These drugs do not work for everyone. \nPrevention: \nGet the hepatitis B vaccine. The vaccine is usually given through 3 injections over 6 months. The vaccine is recommended for the following groups: \nAll girls and boys from 0 to 18 years old \nA person whose sex partner has chronic hepatitis B \nMen who have sex with men \nSomeone who has been recently diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease \nPeople with multiple sex partners \nSomeone who shoots drugs \nSomeone who lives with a person with chronic hepatitis B \nPeople whose jobs expose them to human blood \nIf you are having sex, but not with one steady partner, use latex condoms correctly and every time you have sex. Using condoms may lower your risk of getting hepatitis B. \nDon't share anything that could have an infected person's blood on it, like toothbrushes, razors, nail clippers, or washcloths. \nConsider the risks if you are thinking about getting a tattoo or body piercing. You might get infected if the tools have someone else's blood on them or if the artist or piercer does not follow good health practices. \nIf you are a health care or public safety worker, get vaccinated against hepatitis B, and always follow routine barrier precautions and safel
100169
http://www.webmd.com/\n\nHepatitis A, B, and C are viral infections that, combined, affect an estimated 5% to 6% of Americans.\n Hepatitis B is spread in infected blood and other bodily fluids such as semen and vaginal secretions.\n How Do I Know I Have Hepatitis B?\n\nSymptoms of acute infection (when a person is first infected with hepatitis) include:\n\n    * Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes and/or a brownish or orange tint to the urine)\n    * Unusually light colored stool\n    * Unexplained fatigue that persists for weeks or months\n    * Flu-like symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting\n    * Abdominal pain \n\nOften, symptoms occur 1-6 months after exposure. An estimated 30% of those infected do not have any symptoms at all.\n\nPeople with chronic active hepatitis experience similar symptoms, but their fatigue is much more severe, and they can have confusion or disorientation\nPrevention:\n# Get vaccinated (if you have not already been infected)\n# Use condoms every time you have sex\n# Wear gloves when touching or cleaning up body secretions on personal items, such as bandages/band aids, tampons, and linens\n# Cover all open cuts or wounds\n# Do not share razors, toothbrushes, manicuring tools, or pierced earrings with anyone\n# Do not share chewing gum or pre-chew food for a baby\n# Make certain that any needles for drugs, ear piercing, or tattooing are properly sterilized\n# Clean areas with blood on them with 1 part household bleach and 10 parts water
506239
Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is one of the most frequently performed tests for HBV. This HBV antigen is the earliest indicator of an active hepatitis B infection. This antigen may be present before symptoms of an HBV infection are present. If this antigen level remains high for more than 6 months, then you will probably become a carrier of HBV, meaning you can transmit it to others throughout your life. \nHepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) is also one of the most common tests for HBV. Usually this antibody appears about 4 weeks after HBsAg disappears and means that the infection is at the end of its active stage and you cannot pass the virus to others (you are no longer contagious). This antibody also protects you from getting HBV again in the future. The test is done to determine the need for vaccination; the antibody will be present after receiving the HBV vaccine series, showing that you have protection (immunity) from the virus. Occasionally your test may show that you have both the HBsAb and HBsAg antibodies; in this case, you are still contagious. \nHepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg). Currently, there is no test to find this antigen. \nHepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) is an antibody to the hepatitis B core antigen. This antibody appears about 1 month after an active HBV infection. It can be found in people who had an infection in the past and in those with long-term (chronic) HBV. It usually is present for life. \nHepatitis B core antibody IgM (HBcAbIgM) is also an antibody to the hepatitis B core antigen. It shows a recent infection in the last 6 months. \nHepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg) is an HBV protein that is only present during an active HBV infection. This test determines how contagious you are. Testing for this antigen can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of treatment for HBV. \nHepatitis B e-antibody (HBeAb) shows that the active stage of the HBV infection is almost over and your risk of being contagious is greatly reduced. HBeAb is usually present during chronic HBV infections. \nHBV DNA testing finds genetic material (DNA) from the hepatitis B virus. Currently, quantitative HBV DNA tests are done. A high HBV DNA level means that the virus is multiplying in your body and you are very contagious. If you have a chronic HBV infection, an elevated viral DNA level means you are at an increased risk for chronic hepatitis and may want to consider treatment with medications. Testing for HBV DNA also is important to monitor the effectiveness of treatment for chronic HBV infection. HBV DNA testing is a more sensitive test than HBeAg (above) for detecting HBV in the blood
693283
I don't know off the top of my head, but try looking here. It has loads of good and useful virology info.\nhttp://www-micro.msb.le.ac.uk/