Re: i just want to ask if my hepa b status is contagious...

In article <1176748310.751974.166730@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
mariellmae@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

i cant really understand everything about hepa b...i went to a doctor
and i took several blood test..HBs Ag its reactive and then Anti Hbe
its also reactive and i also been tested for SGPT and Alkaline
phosphatase...and the findings that the doctor told me is that im a
chronic healthy carrier of viral hepatitis B....im so
confused...because the doctor told me i dont need to drink any
medicine...i dont know if im contagious i want to know...

- Am i sick that needs to take any medicine...

- Am i contagious...in my case...

- how come the doctor didnt gave me any medicine to take since i have
chronic hepa b carrier...

thank you for the feedback...hope to hear from you soon...
honey

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000279.htm

Definition

The term "hepatitis" refers to syndromes or diseases causing liver
inflammation, including inflammation due to viruses and chronic alcohol
abuse. Viruses causing hepatitis include Hepatitis A, B, C, E, and the
delta factor. Each virus causes a distinct syndrome, though they share
some symptoms and consequences.

Most people who become infected with hepatitis B get rid of the virus
within 6 months. A short infection is known as an "acute" case of
hepatitis B.

Approximately 10% of people infected with the hepatitis B virus develop a
chronic, life-long infection. People with chronic infection may have
symptoms, but many of these patients never develop symptoms. These
patients are sometimes referred to as "carriers" and can spread the
disease to others. Having chronic hepatitis B increases your chance of
permanent liver damage, including cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and
liver cancer.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Hepatitis B is transmitted via blood and other body fluids. Infection can
occur through:

* Contact with blood in healthcare settings -- this puts physicians,
nurses, dentists, and other healthcare personnel at risk
* Unsafe sex with an infected person
* Blood transfusions
* Sharing needles during drug use
* Receiving a tattoo or acupuncture with contaminated instruments
* Birth -- an infected mother can transmit the virus to the baby
during delivery or shortly thereafter

People who are at higher risk, including healthcare workers and those who
live with someone with hepatitis B, should get the hepatitis B vaccine.

In acute hepatitis, it takes about 1-6 months from the time of infection
until symptoms appear. Early symptoms may include nausea and vomiting,
loss of appetite, fatigue, and muscle and joint aches. Jaundice, together
with dark urine and light stools, follows. About 1% of patients infected
with hepatitis B die due to liver damage in this early stage.

The risk of becoming chronically infected depends on the person's age at
the time of infection. More than 90% of newborns, about 50% of children,
and less than 5% of adults infected with hepatitis B develop chronic
hepatitis.

Most damage from hepatitis B virus is caused by the body's response to the
infection. The body's immune response against the infected liver cells
(hepatocytes) damages the cells, causing liver inflammation (hepatitis).
As a result, liver enzymes (transaminases) leak out of the liver into the
blood, causing transaminase blood levels to be elevated. The virus impairs
the liver's ability to produce the clotting factor prothrombin, increasing
the time required for blood clot formation (prothrombin time).

Liver damage also impairs the body's ability to rid itself of bilirubin (a
breakdown product of old red blood cells), causing jaundice (yellow
discoloration of the eyes and body) and dark urine.

Symptoms

* Fatigue, malaise, joint aches, and low-grade fever
* Nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain
* Jaundice and dark urine due to increased bilirubin

Signs and tests

* Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) -- this represents the first
viral marker present in blood tests after the patient is infected. It
usually disappears from the blood in 1-2 months.
* Hepatitis B core antibody (Anti-HBc) -- this is usually detected
within 1-2 weeks of the appearance of hepatitis B surface antigen.
* Hepatitis B surface antibody (Anti-HBs) -- this is found both in
those who have been immunized and those who have recovered from hepatitis
infection.
* Both hepatitis B surface antibody and core antibody persist
indefinitely in the blood of patients who have recovered from hepatitis B.
* Liver enzyme (transaminase) blood levels may be elevated due to
liver damage.
* Albumin levels may be low and prothrombin time may be prolonged due
to severe liver failure.

Treatment

Acute hepatitis needs no treatment other than careful monitoring of liver
function, by measuring serum transaminases and prothrombin time.

In rare cases of liver failure, the patient should be monitored in an
intensive care unit. Because liver damage decreases the liver's ability to
degrade proteins, the patient's protein intake should be restricted.

Also, lactulose, metronidazole or neomycin should be administered (to
limit protein production by bacteria in the gut). Patients should be
monitored until they recover or until a liver transplant appears
necessary. A liver transplant is the only definitive cure in cases of
liver failure.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis is geared towards reducing inflammation,
symptoms, and infectivity. Treatment options include interferon
(administered by injection) as well as lamivudine, entecavir, and adefovir
dipivoxil (administered orally). Liver transplantation is used to treat
end-stage chronic hepatitis B liver disease.

Support Groups

For additional information and resources, see liver disease support group.

Expectations (prognosis)

The acute illness usually subsides after 2 to 3 weeks, and the liver
usually returns to normal within 16 weeks. Some infected people 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.

Complications

* Chronic hepatitis
* Cirrhosis
* Hepatocellular carcinoma

Calling your health care provider

Call your health care provider if symptoms of hepatitis B develop.

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if hepatitis B
symptoms do not resolve in 2 or 3 weeks, or if new symptoms develop.

Call your provider if you belong to a high risk group for hepatitis B and
have not yet been vaccinated against the disease. Remember that
vaccination is safe and free of adverse effects.

Prevention

Screening of all donated blood has reduced the likelihood of contracting
hepatitis B from a blood transfusion. As an initial screen, blood donors
are now required to fill out a questionnaire about their sexual and drug
use activities. The blood of those who are in high-risk groups is not
used. Also, tests are used to screen collected blood for the hepatitis B
virus.

Mandatory reporting of the disease allows state health care workers to
track people who have been exposed and to immunize contacts that have not
yet developed the disease. Formerly, hepatitis B vaccine was made from
human blood products, so it was not received well by the public. Now
hepatitis B vaccine is entirely artificial, with no human products, and
therefore cannot transmit either hepatitis B or the AIDS virus. The new
vaccine is both safe and effective. Those receiving the vaccine require
three vaccinations administered within a six month period to achieve full
immunity. Vaccination of babies has become routine in pediatric care in
the US.

Sexual contact with a person who has acute or chronic hepatitis B should
be avoided. Condoms, if used consistently and properly, may also reduce
transmission through sexual contact. However, immunization provides the
only definitive protection against the virus. Vaccination of those at high
risk has been of only limited success. Therefore, the United States Public
Health Service has recommended universal vaccination of all newborns and
pre-pubertal teenagers.

Infants born of mothers who either currently have acute hepatitis B or who
have had the infection receive a special immunization series to prevent
viral transmission. This includes administering hepatitis B immune
globulin and a hepatitis B immunization within 12 hours of birth.

Update Date: 1/23/2006

Updated by: Jenifer K. Lehrer, MD, Department of Gastroenterology,
Frankford-Torresdale Hospital, Jefferson Health System, Philadelphia, PA.
Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.


.

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