Causes of Hepatitis B virus
Dr.Kut | May 03, 2010 | Comments 0
Hepatitis B is a very common virus that affects millions of people all over the world. It has been considered as an epidemic in many parts of Africa and Asia. Hepatitis B belongs to the Hepadnavirus family and this means that it consists of a core particle that has the viral genome inside and that forms a double stranded DNA.
HIV, the virus that causes AIDs is not related to Hepatitis B however, they both work of the same principle of reversal of transcription process. Hepatitis genome is the DNA and it has the capacity of reversing the whole process thus making more viral particles. Hepatitis B is easily transmitted through fluids that are infected with the virus.
Some of the most common causes of Hepatitis B include the use of syringes that are infected, or blood transfusion that has the virus in it. It can also be transmitted through sexual contact or from the mother to the child at the time of birth. There is a lot of research done into other possibilities of contracting Hepatitis B, however, there are no specific facts mentioned yet.
There are areas all over the world that are more prone to these kinds of diseases due to their hygienic conditions and also due to drug abuse and unprotected sex. In countries like US, this is a very common trend among some kinds of people. However, in countries like China, the common cause of Hepatitis B is transmission from mother to child during pregnancy or at the time of birth. About 20 percent of the cases of Hepatitis B in China are transmitted in this manner and Hepatitis B is considered as endemic.
The elder the person is at the time of getting the Hepatitis B virus, the higher the risks of being unable to get a proper treatment for it. However, hepatitis B is considered to be a very dangerous disease at any stage in life as this disease may develop into permanent inflammation of the liver and this inflammation in turn will lead to cirrhosis.
Liver cirrhosis is a very serious condition of the liver which will affect the whole process of the digestive system and which can very easily lead to liver cancer. Liver cancer after Hepatitis B can be fatal and the only treatment will be liver transplant, however, it is very difficult to know the extension of the damage created by the Hepatitis B in the first place and the chances of survival are very slim.
Related current health articles
Filed Under: Infection
