Do you what is Hepatitis ???
Hepatitis is a disease of the liver most often caused by a virus. In severe cases, it can damage the liver. There are different types of hepatitis.Most cases of hepatitis can be spread to other people. It is spread by sexual contact or by contact with stool, urine, blood or other body fluids of an infected person.
Common signs include: Body aches, weakness, tiredness , Loss of appetite ,Nausea or vomiting, Diarrhea or constipation, Dark urine, Light colored stool, Fever, Headache, A dull ache in the right upper side of the abdomen, Yellow color to the skin called jaundice, Itchy skin, Joint pain and rashes
How to Prevent the Spread of Hepatitis
If you have hepatitis or are caring for a person with hepatitis:
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. Be sure to wash your hands after contact with blood, stool, urine or saliva. Hand washing must always be done before fixing and eating food.
• The person with hepatitis should not handle food other people will eat. Throw away his or her leftovers.
• Wash dishes well with hot, soapy water and rinse.
• Wash clothing, sheets and towels used by the person with hepatitisseparately.
• The person with hepatitis should not have sexual contact, including kissing, until his or her doctor says that it is safe.
Wow! Talk about a posting konkincg my socks off!
ReplyDeleteDear Laura,I would like to take issue with the following stnaemett. "People continue to become infected with hepatitis C in San Francisco, primarily through injecting drugs... but increasingly through sexual contact as well". Which seems to infer that that chances of HCV infection through sex is equivalent in some way to transmission through blood to blood contact of IV users. I think this is misleading and confuses the public about their actual risk of contracting HCV.HCV is not an STD and very few people contract HCV through sex. Some studies have tested the sexual partners of hepatitis C patients to see whether they too are HCV-positive. Such studies have produced results ranging from 0 percent to 6 percent positivity- with approximately 2 percent being the average.Excluding people that are sharing blood as during some forms of "hard sex", sex is a very poor means of transmitting the virus.From the CDC:"Can Hepatitis C be spread through sexual contact?Yes, but the risk of transmission from sexual contact is believed to be low. The risk increases for those who have multiple sex partners, have a sexually transmitted disease, engage in rough sex, or are infected with HIV. More research is needed to better understand how and when Hepatitis C can be spread through sexual contact"."Several studies of risk factors in sexual activity found rates of infection between 1 and 18% for homosexually active individuals, 1 to 10% among heterosexually active individuals, and 1 to 12% among female prostitutes, with the primary risk factors for infection being greater numbers of partners, unprotected sex, simultaneous infection with other STD's, and traumatic sexual activity". The most efficient mode of transmission is via blood-to-blood. This means that blood from an infected person gets into the bloodstream of another person. IE Sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment to inject drugs where blood is exchanged.From the CDC:Within only six months to a year after beginning intravenous drug use, 50-80 percent of drug users test positive for the hepatitis C antibody. I.V. drug users account for about 30-40% of all identified cases, and about 50 percent of all new cases of the disease. I believe that SF should concentrate its limited resources focusing on the IV drug using community as this is where the chances of spreading HCV is the highest.Regards,Howard Crawford
ReplyDeleteTreatment for me with Interferon-A and ribavirin back in 1997 faeild(I never took the Pegalyated version). I am Type 1 and have been waiting for this ever since. Obviously great news. Has there been any indication as to when this treatment will become available, and if there will be sufficient supply to meet demand in the near term. I'm actually worried that I may have to wait longer. My hope is to begin this treatment by July and finish by the end of the year.
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