A,B,C,D and E
- learning the hepatitis alphabet could save your life.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. You may have
heard of the more common virus types hepatitis A and C, but do you know about
the other forms of hepatitis?
Hepatitis A |
Hepatitis B |
Hepatitis C |
|
| How Serious Is It? | Hepatitis A is serious but not usually fatal. | It can be very serious, causing liver damage, cirrhosis (sir-oh-sis) of the liver, liver cancer, and even death | It can be very serious, causing cirrhosis (sir-oh-sis) of the liver and liver cancer. |
| How Can I Get It? |
• Poor personal hygiene, especially infrequent hand washing.
• Through close contact with an infected person. |
• Through contact with infected bodily fluids (blood, saliva, semen, etc.).
• By using contaminated needles. • From mother to newborn. • Through sex. |
• Through contact with infected bodily fluids (blood, saliva, semen, etc.).
• By using contaminated needles. • From mother to newborn. • Through sex. |
| What Are The Symptoms? | Fatigue, nausea, fever or chills, jaundice (yellow skin), abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools. | Fever, fatigue, dark urine, light-colored stools, jaundice. | Fever, fatigue, dark urine, light-colored stools, jaundice. |
|
How Many Americans Get It Each Year?
How Is it Treated? |
Fatigue, nausea, fever or chills, jaundice (yellow skin), abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools. | Between 140,000-320,000 people get hepatitis B each year. Your doctor can treat it with anti-viral medicines, but there is no known cure. | An estimated 36,000 new cases of hepatitis are diagnosed each year. Your doctor can treat chronic hepatitis C with anti-viral medicines. Treatment is effective for about 40% of the people. |
| How Can I Prevent It? |
• If you become exposed, you can get an injection of Immune Globulin (for
short-term protection) within 2 weeks of exposure.
• Get vaccinated. • Wash your hands often. |
• If you become exposed, you can get an injection of Immune Globulin (for
short-term protection) within 2 weeks of exposure.
• Get vaccinated. • Don't share personal items like razors and toothbrushes. • Don't share needles. • Clean up infected blood with bleach. • Practice abstinence or safe sex. |
• Practice abstinence or safe sex.
• Don't share personal items like razors and toothbrushes. • Don't share needles. • Clean up infected blood with bleach. |
Other less common forms of hepatitis include hepatitis D and E. Hepatitis D cannot exist without the presence of hepatitis B. Its risks are similar to that of hepatitis B. Hepatitis E does not usually lead to chronic illness. It is caused by drinking contaminated water and carries the same risks as hepatitis B. Symptom usually last only a few weeks.