Hepatitis Essay Research Paper THE PRIORITY OF

Hepatitis Essay, Research Paper

THE PRIORITY OF HEPATITIS B VACCINATIONS IN CANADA The increase in the number of children attending schools in Canada and the potential for transmission of viral infection in that environment is a problem of great size. A virus is defined as “a morbid principle, or a poisonous venom, especially one capable of being introduced into another person or animal” in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Due to their miniscule size, it was not until 1885 that Adolf Mayer observed their existence in the mosaic (leaf-spot) disease of the tobacco plant, which he described as to be caused by a strangely invisible contagious agent.1 This particular living entity was so small that it readily passed through a porcelain filter. With the invention of the electron microscope by Ernst Ruska, the virus’ true anatomy was first time visible to us in 1933.2 They are so infinitesimal that billions could fit into a drop of water—or a drop of human blood. Viruses have the most exquisite ability to sense the right cell surfaces. They don’t just cause diseases in people, they infect every form of life on earth. Some emerging viruses are very serious. Common examples are the hepatitis viruses, B and C. The hepatitis B pattern of illness was recognized at the end of the nineteenth century, yet the virus itself was not isolated until 1963. One hundred and seventy six million people are carrying the surface antigen of this one virus globally, and the infection causes a vast amount of illness and death, including most of the fatal cases of liver cell cancer.3 To prevent the wide spread of this disease, a rush for vaccination in the elementary schools for children in the K-6 levels had been implemented in Canada. However, the most effective way to prevent chronic infection is to vaccinate against it during the neonate stage up to the age of 5, the period of where the risk is the highest. Therefore, instead of targeting elementary school children, the ministry of health should have been inoculating neonates for their first priority.Hepatitis B (HBV) is a liver disease that causes inflammation of the liver. This inflammation can cause liver cell damage, which can lead to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) and an increased risk of liver cancer. Each year in the U.S. more than 100,000 people contract HBV.4 Approximately 90-95% of adults will recover within six months and not contract HBV again.5 However, blood tests will always show that they have been infected with HBV and blood banks will not accept their blood. Approximately 5-10% of adults and 25-90% of children under the age of five that are infected with HBV are unable to clear the virus within six months and are considered to be chronically infected, commonly called hepatitis B chronic carriers.6 Many people with acute hepatitis B have no symptoms at all, or they may be very mild and flu-like: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle or joint aches and mild fever. About 25-35% of the patients may notice dark urine, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice) or light coloured stools.7 A few patients have a more severe course of illness and may die of fulminant (overwhelming) hepatic failure within a short period of time after getting sick. HBV is transmitted through contact with body fluids containing HBV, such as blood, semen and vaginal secretions (menses). Thus, anyone who is exposed to blood or body fluids of an infected person is at risk of contracting HBV. Hepatitis B is most commonly passed from person to person through sexual contact. It can also be passed through exposure to sharp instruments contaminated with infected blood, such as tattooing, body piercing and acupuncture needles, sharing of razors or toothbrushes with an infected person, or human bites and through blood given before hepatitis B testing was available (1975). In about 30%-40% of cases, the method of passing the virus to others is unrecognized. The virus can survive outside of the body for at least 7 days on a dry surface and is 100 times more contagious than HIV.8 People who have not cleared HBV from their blood within 6 months are considered to be chronically infected and are called hepatitis B carriers. There are about 1 million persons chronically infected with HBV, who have no symptoms but can pass the infection on to others in the U.S. at the present time. An estimated number of 300,000 new cases show up each year.9 Babies born to HBV-infected mothers are at a high risk of becoming chronically infected with HBV compared to a much lower risk for adults. Usually a person with chronic HBV infection has no signs or symptoms of infection and can unknowingly pass HBV to others. In some patients, HBV continues its silent attack on the liver, eventually causing cirrhosis (scarring) or cancer of the liver. Cirrhosis slows the blood flow through the liver and causes greatly increased pressure in the portal vein that carries nutrients from the stomach and intestines to the liver. As a result, varicose veins may develop in the stomach and esophagus and, without warning, these large veins can break, causing a person to vomit blood or have black, tarry stools (bowel movements). A pregnant woman who is an HBV carrier can pass the infection on to her new-born baby at birth. Eighty-five-90% of babies infected at birth will become carriers or chronically infected, reducing their life expectancy.10 About 4,000 people die each year in the U.S. due to li