Today is World Hepatitis Day 2021. This year the theme is- Hepatitis can’t wait. ‘Decision-makers can’t wait and must act now to make hepatitis elimination a reality through political will and funding’ This and other lines like this along with WHD have named this year’s theme.
History of world hepatitis day
Dr. Barik Blumberg (1925–2011) discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967. 2 years after that He developed the first hepatitis B vaccine. After his great work, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976. Organizations around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC, celebrate World Hepatitis Day on 28 July in honor of the doctor on his birthday. The day is celebrated to raise awareness about viral hepatitis. WHD creates an opportunity to educate about CDC’s efforts to combat viral hepatitis around the world and how to prevent these infections.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis disease occurs in the liver of our body. In this disease the liver becomes inflamed. This swelling occurs due to infection of the tissue there. It damages the liver. Since the liver performs more than 500 vital functions of the body, the body suffers a lot after the liver becomes infected. Although all types of hepatitis cause liver disease, they differ in important ways, including mode of transmission, disease severity, geographic distribution, and prevention.
Types of hepatitis
- Viral hepatitis
It is infected with five types of viruses- A, B, C, D, and E. Also, it is the most common disease of hepatitis. Of these, A, B and C are considered to be the most common. Accordingly, Hepatitis A is spread through contact with food and water that has been contaminated with an infected person. And Hepatitis B and C are spread through contact with the blood of an infected person. Hepatitis B and D are spread through other body fluids such as sharing drug needles or having unprotected sex. Hepatitis E is also spread by eating contaminated water and food as well as undercooked pork, deer, or shellfish.
- Alcoholic hepatitis
This type of hepatitis is caused by drinking too much alcohol. It mostly occurs in people who have been drinking alcohol for many years.
- Toxic hepatitis
This type of hepatitis is caused by some poisonous elements, excessive medicine, drugs, nutritional supplements.
- Autoimmune hepatitis
The cause of this type of hepatitis is not yet known. Still, it may present as acute or chronic hepatitis or well-established cirrhosis.
Symptoms of hepatitis
Sometimes it also happens that the symptoms of hepatitis are not known. Because Hepatitis can be acute as well as chronic. Accordingly, an estimated 354 million people worldwide live with hepatitis B or C, and for most, tests and treatments are out of reach. Many people with hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E show only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. And where the symptoms appear, they are as follows.
Fever malaise, loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes). Some people may also have abdominal pain, itching (without skin lesions), skin rash, or joint pain.
Treatment of hepatitis
There are several effective vaccines available to prevent hepatitis. Antiviral drugs can cure more than 95% of individuals with hepatitis C infection, reducing the risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer,
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