Hepatitis B?

Question

This question is for doctors or medical graduates, no guessers or "I've heard..."

How is Hepatitis B contracted? Is it an STD?

Answer 1

Type B hepatitis is considered an STD and can be contracted from infected blood, seminal fluid, vaginal secretions, or contaminated drug needles, including tattoo or body-piercing equipment. It can also be spread from a mother to her newborn.

Answer 2

Hepatitis B is a double stranded DNA virus, that can be contracted through sexual activity as well as contamination. There are areas of the world where Hepatitis B is considered "endemic", ie most of the people have it at some point in their lives, even children, and they may have gotten it through contamination of their food or water.

Answer 3

Hepatitis B is a disease that affects your liver. It is caused by the hepatitis B virus. Most people who get hepatitis B can get rid of the virus on their own. But others can develop chronic (or lifelong) hepatitis B. these groups are more likely to get hepatitis B:
Persons with multiple sex partners or diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease

Men who have sex with men

Sex contacts of infected persons

Injection drug users

Household contacts of chronically infected persons

Infants born to infected mothers

Infants and children of immigrants from areas with high rates of hepatitis B, particularly Africa, Asia, Alaska, and parts of South America (see map.)

Health care and public safety workers

Hemodialysis patients (or people who use a kidney machine)

High-risk behaviors are things that some people do that make them more likely to get a disease. You can get hepatitis B through contact with (or by touching) the blood of a person who has the disease. You can also get hepatitis B through contact with other body fluids like semen and vaginal fluids. For example, you can get hepatitis B by having sex or sharing needles with a person who has the disease.
hep b is not a std but you can catch through sex..Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. It is usually caused by viral infections, toxic agents or drugs but may be an autoimmune response. It is characterised by jaundice, abdominal pain, liver enlargement and sometimes fever. It may be mild, or can be acute leading to fulminant hepatitis Others, usually viral or alcoholic are chronic, and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The different types of VIRAL hepatitis are A (formerly called infectious hepatitis), B (serum hepatitis), C ( formerly called non-A, non-B hepatitis), D (delta hepatitis), E (a virus transmitted through the faeces of an infected person), F, G, cryptogenic (Caused by a virus as yet unidentified).

Answer 4

What is it?
Hepatitis B is inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus. Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus can cause liver cell damage leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

How is it contracted?
Hepatitis B is mainly transmitted through sexual contact (STD), wounds, body secretions, and contaminated needles, and from an infected mother to her newborn.

What are the symptoms?
There may be no symptoms. Persons with acute infection may have mild, flu-like symptoms, decreased appetite, nausea, light stools, dark urine, fatigue, fever, or jaundice. Most persons with chronic hepatitis B infection have no symptoms until they develop cirrhosis or liver cancer. The most common symptom of chronic hepatitis B infection is fatigue.

How is it treated?
Prevention is the best treatment. There is a vaccine for hepatitis B. Hepatitis B vaccine is safe and highly effective. There are five approved treatments for hepatitis B. Standard interferon and pegylated interferon are administered as injections while lamivudine, adefovir and entecavir are administered orally. Two of these treatments were approved by the FDA in 2005: pegylated interferon alfa 2a and entecavir.

Who is at risk?
Those who have unprotected sex with infected/multiple partners. Healthcare workers and emergency response personnel who come in contact with blood and blood products. Infants born to infected mothers. Injection drug users.

How can it be prevented?
Vaccination. Safe sex. Protective gloves when exposed to blood. Clean up spilled blood with bleach. Do not share razors or toothbrushes. Screening of pregnant women in the US has nearly eliminated newborn infection because at-risk infants receive immunoglobulin and vaccination shortly after birth and are protected. Hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all newborns, children and adolescents; and adults who are at risk of hepatitis B infection.

Answer 5

Its contracted through exposure to blood, or like a STD.

Answer 6

Hep B is usually contracted by blood to blood contact. It you get three shots within a 6 month period, it is supposed to cover you for life. All hospital nurse's must be innoculated for this reason.