Hepatitis B

HEPATITIS B - A DREADED DISEASE

Hepatitis B is a disease, which affects over 300 million people worldwide and is a growing concern all over the world. There are millions of people who are chronic careers of the hepatitis B virus(HBV). Thousands of deaths are attributed to liver disease caused by HBV, and one health care worker dies each day from this dreaded disease.

Hepatitis B is spreading because many chronic careers of the virus are unaware that they are infected and unknowingly transmit it to those who are in close contact with them. This is the most common, serious liver disease.

It is caused by a virus, which can be transmitted through blood, sex, and shared needles and from an infected mother to her new born during delivery. Of those infected with HBV, the majority will never develop any symptoms, some may experience flu like symptoms, extreme fatigue or jaundice, and very rarely one may become very ill with fatal liver disease.

There is a vaccine that is administered as three shots over six months. Hepatitis B is a disease that is entirely preventable through vaccination. But a vaccine is not a cure if you have already been infected with hepatitis B.

Contributed by Mrs R Sinha

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