World Hepatitis Day: “Test. Treat. Hepatitis”

NP NEWS NETWORK

World Hepatitis Day theme of this year is “Test. Treat. Hepatitis” Timely testing and treatment of hepatitis B and C can save lives and ultimately eliminate viral hepatitis. Let’s revise some key points about viral hepatitis:

• Hepatitis B is the most infectious of the three blood-borne viruses: Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
• Absence of jaundice does not rule out acute hepatitis infection, which can present sometimes only with constitutional symptoms such as fever, vomiting, poor appetite, lethargy with high liver enzymes.
• People at risk for HIV infection are also at risk for Hepatitis B and C infections due to their shared routes of transmission.
• All people with HIV infection should be tested for hepatitis B and C infections.
• Progression of liver disease is faster in viral hepatitis.
• HIV coinfection increases the risk of serious, potentially fatal complications.
• Hepatitis B can also be transmitted by fomites such as such as finger-stick devices used to obtain blood for glucose measurements, multi-dose medication vials, jet gun injectors, and endoscopes.
  Hepatitis B virus is 10 times more infectious than hepatitis C virus and 50-100 times more infectious than HIV.
• The Hepatitis B virus can survive in dried blood for up to 7 days and remains capable of causing infection. This makes hepatitis B a more dangerous infection than HIV.
• Any blood spills from a person with hepatitis B should be cleaned up with appropriate infection control procedures e.g. wearing gloves, and using an appropriate cleaning product for the surface, such as diluted bleach or detergent and warm water.
• Any scratch, cut and wound should be cleaned with soap and water and covered with a waterproof dressing or plaster. Expressing fluid by squeezing the wound will not reduce the risk of blood-borne infection.
• Hepatitis B is preventable; hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for high-risk people or those living with HIV who have tested negative for hepatitis B virus.
• All unvaccinated persons should be administered hepatitis B vaccine after exposure to blood. If the exposed blood is positive for HBV and the exposed person is unvaccinated, treatment with hepatitis B immunoglobulin is recommended.
• Hepatitis C virus can survive on environmental surfaces for up to 16 hours. It can also spread from infected fluid splashes to the conjunctiva.