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Clinical Conditions of Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B can present as either an acute or chronic infection. Acute hepatitis B usually clears up within 6 months, while chronic hepatitis B can last longer than 6 months and increases the risk of liver damage. Chronic infection is more common in infants and immunosuppressed individuals. Signs and symptoms range from mild to severe and include fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice and clay-colored stool. The hepatitis B vaccine is the best prevention, with doses recommended for all newborns and high-risk groups. Proper handwashing and avoiding contact with blood can also help prevent transmission of the virus.

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87 views

Clinical Conditions of Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B can present as either an acute or chronic infection. Acute hepatitis B usually clears up within 6 months, while chronic hepatitis B can last longer than 6 months and increases the risk of liver damage. Chronic infection is more common in infants and immunosuppressed individuals. Signs and symptoms range from mild to severe and include fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice and clay-colored stool. The hepatitis B vaccine is the best prevention, with doses recommended for all newborns and high-risk groups. Proper handwashing and avoiding contact with blood can also help prevent transmission of the virus.

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nurse
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Clinical conditions of Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B usually presents as an acute infection and rarely becomes chronic or lasts for more
than six months. It has an average 45-90 day incubation period which is followed by its clinical
course varying for different patient age groups. More than 90% of perinatal HBV newborns
remain asymptomatic while the typical symptoms associated with acute hepatitis manifest in
about 5-15% of children between the ages of 1-5 years old and in 33-50% of older children,
adolescents and adults. Hepatitis B patients usually recover from the infection even if they
sustained severe signs and symptoms. The symptoms of HBV can last for a period of weeks or
months where patients will recover within 6 months and build immunity to the virus. However,
infants and children typically develop chronic hepatitis B infection. Chronic hepatitis B increases
an individual's risk of developing liver failure, cancer or cirrhosis. Only 1% of HBV patients
will develop fulminant liver disease which has a high mortality rate. [1]

Chronic hepatitis occurs as the infection remains in the body for 6 or more months, unrelated to
age: chronic hepatitis B develops in around 10 percent of infected adults, 25-50 percent of small
children and 80-90 percent of infected babies. Chronic infection typically occurs in HIV and
immunosuppressed individuals. Chronic infection results in inflammation and damage to the
liver thus increasing the patient’s risk of developing cirrhosis; this was observed in 20% of
chronic HBV patients or highly increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. [1]

Signs and symptoms


Signs and symptoms vary from moderate to extreme, usually occurring about 1-4 months after
infection, but might be evident earlier at about two weeks of infection. The majority of patients
with chronic HBV infection is asymptomatic and has no signs of liver disease or damage. Few
patients develop chronic hepatitis with elevated serum AST and ALT, cirrhosis and even primary
liver cancer. Clinical manifestations of HBV are:
● Abdominal pain
● Dark urine --bilirubin
● Fever-
● Joint pain-because of medication or the body’s fighting response to the virus. Causing
inflammation system-wide…may be because of other infections too
● Loss of appetite
● Nausea and vomiting
● Weakness and fatigue
● Jaundice- caused by bilirubin build up…high affinity for elastic tissue (eyes, skin)
● Clay coloured stool- biliary obstruction….liver duct is block [1]
● Rash-purpura/petechiae-like…which is associated with neutrophil infiltration that leads
to small vessel necrosis.
● Ascites- buildup of fluid…due to low albumin
Prevention of Hep B
Hepatitis B currently has no cure so a vaccine was deveoped. Infected persons are advised to
practice precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Transmission of HBV is
associated with blood transfusions, sexual contact with HBV infected partner, tattooing, men
who have sex with men, sharing of needle and syringe for drug use and even occupational
needle-stick injury. Measures to prevent the includes screening of blood donors, treating plasma-
derived products in order to inactivate the HBV, implementing infection-control measures and
most importantly immunizing by usage of the HBV vaccine. [2]

The hepatitis B vaccine was composed of HBsAg from inactivated viral particles from HBV
patients’ plasma in 1982 but was then changed to consist of recombinant HbsAg thats produced
from genetically engineered yeast. The vaccine is given to newborn babies and young children
as part of the usual immunization process. It is also recommended for chancy individuals like
health-care workers, homosexual men, hemodialysis patients, persons with multiple sexual
partners and infants born to HBV-infected mothers.WHO recommends 2-3 doses of the hepatitis
B vaccine for all babies. The first dose should be administered within 24 hours of birth and then
2 or 3 more doses to be followed. Chronic Hepatitis B affects almost 300 million people and kills
700,000 people internationally on an annual basis. Vaccination has been extremely prosperous in
the decline of HBV.
Furthermore to vaccination, HBV can also be prevented by simply
● washing hands properly with soap and water after exposure to blood.
● the use of condoms and
● less direct contact with blood and bodily fluids. [2]

References
1. Hepatitis B FAQs | CDC [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020 [cited 3
January 2021]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbv/bfaq.htm
2. Preventing Hepatitis B [Internet]. Cdc.gov. 2020 [cited 3 January 2021]. Available from:
https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/immunization/othervpds/preventing_hepatitisb.html#:~:text=T
he%20best%20way%20to%20prevent,or%203%20additional%20doses%20later.

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