Hepatitis B

Generality

Hepatitis B is a very contagious disease caused by the homonymous virus, also called HBV, which is transmitted through the blood or through body fluids (sperm, vaginal secretion, saliva), as happens with the promiscuous use of syringes, razors and infected toothbrushes or during sexual contact. It is precisely the unprotected relationships that constitute the primary cause of hepatitis B infection, which shows a significant peak in young age, a time in which sexual promiscuity is maximum.

To prevent hepatitis B and other infectious diseases, in the case of tattoos, holes in the ears or in other parts of the body (piercing), or aesthetic or medical practices involving the use of needles, make sure of the hygienic conditions of the premises in which are performed and demand the use of disposable needles;

Hepatitis B: Subject to Risk

At greater risk are:

those who have sex with infected partners,
addicts,
health professionals who have contact with infected blood or biological fluids,
children born of positive mothers.

Unfortunately, like many other sexually transmitted diseases, the infection can occur also and above all through the work of the so-called asymptomatic carriers, people who, although not showing important symptoms and not being therefore aware of their illness, can unknowingly pass it on to third parties

The risk of contracting hepatitis B is high even for those staying in parts of the world where the infection is widespread; such individuals should seriously consider vaccinating before leaving for their travels, especially if it is "sex tourism". High rates of hepatitis B infection are recorded in countries such as sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, the Amazon basin, the Pacific islands and the Middle East.

Hepatitis B can easily be transmitted from mother to baby during birth.

Hepatitis B mainly affects the liver, causing an infection which is sometimes completely asymptomatic, but which can cause serious problems, such as the appearance of liver cancer, cirrhosis or liver failure. In some cases, organ transplantation is the only solution to save the patient's life.

Most infected adults still manage to overcome the infection even when the symptoms are severe. Infants and children are more at risk because they are more likely to develop a chronic infection.

Insights

Signs and symptomsContact Diagnosis Complications Treatment Medicines for Hepatitis B Diet and Hepatitis B Vaccination

Vaccination

A real cure capable of eradicating hepatitis B does not exist, but for many years now a vaccine has been available that can effectively prevent it at any age (protection in 90-95% of cases, estimated coverage period in at least 23 years ). The side effects of the hepatitis B vaccine are generally mild and mostly limited to the onset of physical fatigue, headache, nausea, pain or swelling at the injection site.

In Italy, in May 1991 a law was issued for which all newborns had to, by obligation, receive the hepatitis B vaccine simultaneously with the administration of diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis vaccines. The law required the mandatory administration of the hepatitis B vaccine even to 12-year-olds in view of the upcoming sexual activity; as required by law, the compulsory vaccination of adolescents ended in 2003, since as of this year, 12-year-olds belong to a birth class already vaccinated in the first year of life. Therefore, about 90% of subjects born after 1979 are immune to the disease, even if, in the presence of risk factors, a serological check is still necessary to verify the actual immunity.

The hepatitis B vaccination must not however exempt from the control of the risk factors associated with it, since these are common to many other diseases (AIDS in the first place).

B is one of the six viral hepatitis strains currently identified, the others are A, C, D, E and G. Each of the listed hepatitis differs from the others in severity and mode of transmission, while the symptomatology is often similar.

Signs and symptoms

To learn more: Symptoms Hepatitis B

Most infants and children with hepatitis B do not develop significant signs and symptoms; similar for some adults.

The characteristic symptoms of hepatitis B normally appear 12 weeks after the infection and can start more or less severely; they understand:

loss of appetite
nausea and vomit
skin rash (redness)
weakness and fatigue
abdominal pain, especially around the liver (right side of the abdomen, just below the ribs)
jaundice (yellowing of the skin, whitish in the eyes)
dark urine and light stools
joint pain.

Liver damage can be evident even in the absence of symptoms, while infectivity is still high. For this reason it is very important to communicate to your treating doctor any suspicions arising from exposure to the risk factors typical of the disease; a simple blood test is in fact sufficient to diagnose hepatitis B, protecting one's own health and that of others.

Hepatitis B infection can be chronic or acute, depending on whether it lasts more or less than 6 months, respectively. In the presence of an acute form, the immune system tends to respond positively to the infection and to eradicate the virus, with consequent complete recovery within a few months.

On the contrary, if the immune response is not adequate, the infection can become chronic and cause, after many years, serious liver damage, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.

As mentioned, the majority of infected adults undergo an acute form, but this is not equally true for the little ones. Most of the children infected by the mother during childbirth or who contract the disease in the first 5 years of life, in fact, are very likely to develop chronic infections. Hepatitis B can thus progress subtly and "silently" for decades, until the person develops a severe liver disease, even after 30-40 years.

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Contagion

Small amounts of blood (0.0001 ml) or other biological fluids (sperm, vaginal secretion, saliva) are sufficient to transmit the virus. Furthermore, the remarkable resistance of the micro-organism to the external environment is recorded, since it maintains its infectivity for many days (at least a month) outside the body.

As stated above, the main transmission methods include:

sexual infection; small lesions, even not visible to the naked eye, of skin or mucous membranes are sufficient to allow the virus to enter the body.
Hepatitis B can therefore be contracted through unprotected sexual intercourse, be it vaginal, anal or oral, and through any route that leads to the entry of blood, saliva, sperm or salivary secretions into the body, even in minimal quantities (for example through the mixed use of vibrators or similar objects not adequately sterilized or covered with a condom).
Common use of material that can cause small wounds: toothbrushes, razor blades, scissors and in particular contaminated needles or syringes. A problem particularly felt among drug addicts and among health personnel (for accidental infections).
Hepatitis B can also be transmitted through the use of contaminated instruments used for tattoos or "body piercing".
Transmission from the mother to the child, through the contact of the newborn with the infected maternal blood (for this reason in all pregnant women the presence of the virus in the blood is sought). If the test is positive, at the time of birth the newborn will be given specific immunoglobulins against the virus, followed by immediate vaccination; this will significantly reduce the risk of the child developing hepatitis B.

To be infected by the virus it is necessary for this to enter the body in one of the ways listed above. It is therefore not possible to be infected by chance contacts, such as a dance, a handshake, through sweat or tears, as well as through the common use of the telephone, the pool or the toilet seat.

Even those who have had hepatitis B and are completely cured cannot transmit the infection; in the same way it will not need any vaccine because it has defenses against other, possible, HBV attacks.