Hepatitis Virus B and C: A Comprehensive Study

HEPATITIS VIRUS B AND C
Hepatitis Virus B & C
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HEPATITIS VIRUS B AND C
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. Aetiology, morphology of the pathogen, incidence and prevalence 3
3. pathophysiology and the resultant clinical presentation. 5
4. Role of the immune system in the progression of the disease. 5
5. Describe the methods of diagnosis. 6
6. Relevant infection prevention & control considerations 8
7. Jurisdiction-based legislative reporting requirements or issues of drug resistance.
9
8.Conclusion 10
Reference: 11
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HEPATITIS VIRUS B AND C
1.Introduction
Hepatitis is a virus that can cause severe liver inflammation. Damage of liver
can affect its functions, such as filtering blood, processing nutrients, & fighting
infections. Hepatitis B & C are viral infections with similar symptoms. These
infections have a severity level of mild to severe conditions where patients might
have to be hospitalised. While both types of the disease can be diagnosed & cured
within six months of infection, about 20% of the people infected by hepatitis C can
get rid of the virus without any treatment. Unfortunately, there are also people whose
bodies cannot fight against the hepatitis C virus leading to a chronic or lifelong
infection.
2. Aetiology, morphology of the pathogen, incidence and prevalence
Aetiology
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes Hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B infection is one
of the most communicable diseases. It can spread through means blood, sweat,
semen, saliva or even vaginal secretions. Below are the common methods through
which Hepatitis B infection can spread (Abbas et al. 2015),
Sharing needles- The virus can spread quickly through needles, syringes, &
drug paraphernalia.
Needlestick injuries- This can be commonly seen in people working for health
care, where they are likely to have accidental injuries caused by needles.
Copulation - If a person mates with a human being who is infected with
Hepatitis B infection, then the infection spreads. Thus, protected sex is necessary.
The other ways it can spread are via an infected person’s semen, blood, saliva or
vaginal secretions.
Pregnancy - If the mother is infected by Hepatitis B virus during her pregnancy
then there are chances that the infection gets passed on to the child too. The child
must be vaccinated against HBV as soon as possible to prevent the spread of
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HEPATITIS VIRUS B AND C
disease. The mother can breastfeed the baby, as the infection cannot spread via
breast milk (Anti-HBc et al. 2015).
On the other h&, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes Hepatitis C. It can spread from
one person to another in the same way as it does in the case of hepatitis B. Any
blood transfusions or contact of blood from an infected person shall cause the
spread of HCV. Organ transplantation from an infected person can also help spread
the virus. The virus is inactive up until it enters the living cell of a host. Once it has
taken entry to the human body, it seeks its way to the liver through the bloodstream.
In the liver, the virus reproduces & multiplies itself using the liver cells. These viruses
never harm the liver directly. If a person is diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis C, then
in such a case billions of infected cells circulate the body (Aragón et al. 2015).
HCV does not spread through casual contact like shaking h&s, sharing utensils
or food, kissing, respiratory droplets, or even mosquito bites.
Morphology of Pathogen
Hepatitis B virus is a somewhat double-stranded virus, & its activities are
unusually similar to retroviruses. It is a DNA virus & belongs to the family
Hepadnaviridae. Such infections can be found in Pekin ducks, ground & tree
squirrels, woodchucks, & herons.
Based on the viral strains, HBV is separated into eight genotypes (A to H), &
HCV is divided into six distinctive genotypes. Each HBV genotype has a distinct
geographic distribution, whereas the geographic distribution of HCV genotypes is
widely spread. Research says that it is difficult to make a vaccine for hepatitis C
because few of the proteins on the surface of HCV changes always helping the virus
to evade the immune system. E2 is one such protein that is known to contain a
region that binds liver cells. Also, Hepatitis C is not related to any of the other
Hepatitis virus types (A, D, B, E) (Blach et al. 2017).
Incidence & Prevalence
In a study conducted, out of 282 nearly 30 people who had negative results to
anti- HBc (Antibody to the Hepatitis core antigen) at enrollment had positive results
after almost 11.7 months. Among the people who seroconverted, 25 were males, & 5
were females. The spread of HCV infection is highly variable. It is spread over
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