-Curious

Hepatitis B is a liver disease characterized by inflammation of the liver and liver cell damage. It is caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), present in the blood and all body fluids of an infected individual. Most hepatitis cases are acute, lasting less than one year. Each year, six to ten percent of Hepatitis B infections in the United States become chronic, meaning the person continues to be highly contagious, and risks developing cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.

Hepatitis B can be transmitted through any contact of contaminated blood or body fluids with breaks in the skin or mucous membrane of an uninfected person. Hepatitis B is primarily transmitted through sexual contact and needle sharing — much like HIV transmission — or through blood transfusion. In some areas of the world, Hepatitis B is endemic and may be transmitted to offspring who become chronic asymptomatic carriers. If you were born in a high-risk area, you need to be evaluated to determine if you are a Hep B carrier.

At first, a person infected with Hepatitis B will not show any signs of disease — no symptom is one of the most common symptoms. Some people experience mild flu-like symptoms (i.e., fever, aches, loss of appetite, fatigue). As the disease progresses, many people develop temporary jaundice (a yellowing of the skin) and dark urine.

Safer sex and avoiding unsterile needles (for drugs and tattoos) help prevent Hepatitis B transmission. As a matter of fact, Hepatitis B is the most preventable sexually transmitted infection (STI), primarily because there is a vaccine for it, which is administered in three injections over a six-month period. Because Hepatitis B is highly contagious, all those who have had close personal contact with someone infected with the virus need to be screened and vaccinated. If you are a college student, it's strongly recommended that you to get the Hepatitis B vaccination because college is a common place for coming into contact with STIs, and you need all the protection you can get. See your health care provider to be immunized.

For more information on Hepatitis B, the virus or the disease, you can call the Hepatitis Hotline of the American Liver Foundation at 1.800.GO.LIVER (465.4837). Also read Alice's hepatitis B answers in the sexual health archive.

Counseling and screening for Hepatitis B are available at Health Services at Columbia. After counseling and free antibody testing, a subsidized six-month immunization program can be undertaken. Call x4-2284 for details. If you are not at Columbia, talk with your health care provider.

Alice

P.S.:

HEP A:

Common in children in developing countries, but frequently seen in adults in western countries; spread through direct and indirect contact with an infected person's feces (i.e., via contaminated food and water prepared with unwashed hands).

HEP B:

Most common type of hepatitis worldwide, with an estimated 1.2 million carriers in the United States; spread through sexual contact, contaminated needles, and blood transfusions, and from mother to child during, or shortly before, childbirth. Hep B is common among college students. A vaccine is available and recommended.

HEP C:

Most common type of hepatitis in the United States, with approximately 3.9 million carriers; spread directly from one person to another through blood or contaminated needles. It's possible, but uncommon, for Hep C to be spread from mother to child or through sexual contact.

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