Kinds of hepatitis
There are three major types of hepatitis, and all of them affect the liver. Some of the symptoms are similar, but they have different treatments. The CDC recommends young children be vaccinated for hepatitis A and B along with their other childhood immunizations.
Hepatitis A. Transmitted by eating or drinking something contaminated with the virus. Outbreaks traced to produce served in restaurants sometimes make the news. Hepatitis A won't lead to long-term infection and usually doesn't cause any complications. The liver heals in about 2 months. A vaccine is available.
Hepatitis B. Most people recover from this type in 6 months. Sometimes, though, it causes a long-term infection that could lead to liver damage. Once you've got the disease, you can spread the virus even if you don't feel sick. A vaccine is available.
Hepatitis C. Many people with this type don't have any symptoms. About 80% of those with the disease get a long-term infection. It can sometimes lead to cirrhosis, a scarring of the liver. There's no vaccine, but new drugs do promise a cure for many patients.
Both B and C are mainly transmitted by sharing needles or direct contact with infected blood or the bodily fluids of someone who has the disease.
Hepatitis C has never been a death sentence. Recent breakthroughs in treatment mean that hepatitis C doesn’t even have to be a life sentence.
In the past 20 years, Dr. Paul Kwo of the Indiana University School of Medicine said he can think of only two medical breakthroughs that have effectively cured human diseases. The first is the use of antibiotics to fight Helicobacter pylori bacteria, which cause ulcers and can lead to stomach cancer.
The second is an all-oral drug regimen to cure hepatitis C, a virus that causes the liver to scar, and can eventually lead to cirrhosis and cancer.
“The newer medications have changed pretty much the landscape of hepatitis C treatment,” said Dr. Amar Pinto, a specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology with Premier Healthcare. “The success rates are very high.
“Literally, these are like miracle drugs, so to speak. I believe with the medication we have currently, the need for liver transplantation will go down.”
Hepatitis C infections in Monroe County increased 83 percent in the past five years, according to state health department data. On a state and local level, health departments are working to combat rising levels of hepatitis C caused by injection drug use by implementing syringe exchange programs, where drug users can legally turn used needles in to the health department in exchange for clean ones.
As the image of a typical injection drug user has shifted, so have the demographics of people infected with hepatitis C. Active drug users live in rural and suburban areas, not just in urban cities. Users are white, young, and for those addicted to opioids such as heroin, often first start abusing prescription painkillers.
The risk in moving from pills to injection drugs is the prevalence of blood-borne diseases. Those at highest risk to contract and spread hepatitis C are injection drug users, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than half of all injection drug users with HIV also have hepatitis C.
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