BACKGROUND MEDIA INFORMATION VIRAL HEPATITIS

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Acute viral hepatitis is usually much easier to diagnose than chronic hepatitis. Symptoms of fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, darkening of urine and jaundice indicate acute hepatitis and the diagnosis can be confirmed with blood tests. 1 However, patients with chronic hepatitis often have no symptoms or only mild nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue. As a result, these patients can remain undiagnosed for years or even decades, with undetected liver damage progressing all the while. 1 How is viral hepatitis treated No medical treatment is available for acute viral hepatitis. Care is aimed at maintaining comfort and replacing fluids that are lost from vomiting and diarrhoea. 1 In a few very severe cases (fulminant hepatitis) liver transplantation may be necessary. 12 Current treatment for chronic hepatitis B & C involves injections that stimulate the immune system against the virus and therapeutic drugs that stop the virus from replicating - which, used in combination, cure approximately half of all hepatitis C patients. 13 Treatment does not cure hepatitis B, but may turn an „aggressive‟ hepatitis B into a mild infection, which can stop the liver from being damaged. The majority of patients require long-term, in some cases life-long, treatment to stop the disease from progressing. Several new hepatitis C treatments are in development – the first generation of these will be used in combination with current treatments and hopefully lead to even greater cure rates. 14 Treatment helps to prevent progressive liver damage, cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer 1 ; however, the drugs used can be very costly and are not available to most patients in developing countries. 2
What is the long-term prognosis About one-fifth of patients with chronic hepatitis B and C are at risk of developing cirrhosis or liver cancer. 4 Liver cancer is one of the top three causes of cancer death in men, and a major cause of cancer death in women. 2 How can viral hepatitis be prevented Improved sanitation and vaccination are the most effective ways to combat hepatitis A and B. 2 Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection with the hepatitis B virus. 2 The hepatitis B vaccine is 95% effective in preventing infection and its chronic consequences, and is the first vaccine to be developed against a major human cancer. However, the vaccine is not readily available in many poorer regions due to its high cost. There is currently no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C. Treatment with drugs can clear the infection in approximately half of those who are infected, but side effects may be a problem and treatment is often not available in areas of the world where infection and subsequent disease is widespread. 2 Taking precautions to prevent exposure to another individual's blood (e.g. contaminated needles), semen (e.g. in unprotected sex), and other biologic materials (e.g. stools) will also help prevent the spread of these viruses. 1 Many people with hepatitis B and C do not know they are infected until the late stages of the diseases, as the symptoms are not obvious for many years. By this time, many patients have already developed complications relative to their infections and treatment becomes more difficult and costly. Screening programmes can allow patients who have been infected by either hepatitis B or C to be diagnosed earlier in the development of the disease, therefore allowing for them to be monitored and treated accordingly.
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Page 3: Infection with the hepatitis B viru

BACKGROUND MEDIA INFORMATION VIRAL HEPATITIS

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