Hepatitis :
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, usually caused by a virus. It can also be caused by excessive alcohol or drug consumption. Viral hepatitis is classified as A, B and Non A, Non B. There is no effective antiviral drug.

Hepatitis A:

Also called infectious hepatitis –is transmitted by close contact or fecal contamination of food or water. Following an incubation period of two to six weeks, initial symptoms include fever, nausea, weakness, discomfort and tenderness over the liver area. After about the first four days of the illness, jaundice (yellow skin) develops and patients pass dark urine and pale feces. Jaundice lasts one or two weeks and then appetite returns. A complete recovery is usual. An injection of human immunoglobulin gives temporary protection to travelers to those area of the Third World where the disease is endemic.

Hepatitis B:

Also called serum hepatitis – is blood borne, usually transmitted by sharing contaminated needles or through sexual contact. The incubation period varies between one and five months. Symptoms identical to Hepatitis A may develop, but a high percentage of cases are sub-clinical. i.e. the illness is mild without evidence of jaundice. In about 19 out of 20 cases the patients become free of the virus within four to six months. One case in 20 becomes a chronic carrier, and liable to pass on infection by blood or sexual contact, liable to develop liver complications such as cirrhosis. Only one in 1000 cases dies of acute hepatitis. Immunization by a series of three injection is now available for those at high risk, e.g nurses, doctors and dentists.