Hepatitis A Essay -- essays research papers fc

Introduction: Hepatitis is caused by a virus that is targeted at the liver, one of your most important organs!! Specifically, it causes inflammation and injury to the liver. Hepatitis comes in many different forms, five to be exact. There is Hepatitis A, B, C, D & E. Hepatitis is caused mainly by viruses, all of which are set on shutting down your liver. I will be specifically concentrating on Hepatitis A in this report. Hepatitis A is also known as infectious Hepatitis, an extremely contagious viral infection that often effects young children and young adults, especially those in large groups. It has been known to break out in schools, summer camps and music festivals etc. Hepatitis A is also very common in developing nations. Outbreaks occur due to unsanitary conditions such as contamination of the food and water supply. The Liver: The liver is an organ which is located upper right part of your abdomen. It has one main function. This function is to clean out your blood. How this happens is from your inferior venacava, there is a group if veins called the mesenteric veins. They branch off and take dirty blood to your liver to be cleaned. Now, when the virus moves in and stops the liver from doing its job, just imagine all the toxins and unwanted waste and chemicals that build up in your body.!! Causes: Hepatitis A is transmitted almost always by the fecal oral route. It is spread by close personal contact with fecally contaminated water supplies, fruits and vegetables. Poor personal hygiene promotes spread of the virus as well which is why the incidence of Hepatitis is higher in developing nations, where poor sanitary conditions exist. It can also be transmitted by raw or partially cooked clams from contaminated water. Properties of the virus: The hepatitis A virus is a non - enveloped 27 nano meters in size, virus. It is characterized as a RNA based virus. Inactivation of viral activity can be achieved by heating to 100 Â °C for five minutes, and by contact with formaldehyde and chlorine or by ultraviolet irradiation. The virus is present in the liver, bile, stool and blood during the illness. Symptoms: The symptoms of viral hepatitis are not very pretty. Getting Hepatitis is not a fun experience. The first symptoms of Hepatitis A are mild and vague. They generally appear from about 2 weeks to 6 months after ex... ...me up with a new vaccine against Hepatitis A called Havrix. I know about this because last year, before my family and I went on a trip to India, we all got vaccinated against Hepatitis A with Havrix. None of the books from which I researched had any thing about Havrix because they were not that up to date. Prognosis: In most cases of infectious Hepatitis, previously healthy people fully recover with in 2 - 6 weeks. Patients in old age or people with serious underlying disorders such as heart failure, Anemia, diabetes, cancer etc. have a much longer recovery period and are more likely to develop a much worse case of the infection and have a poorer prognosis. However, the over all mortality rate of Hepatitis A is less than 1 percent. Bibliography: 1) Principles Of internal Medicine, Isselbacher, Adams, Braunwald, Petersdorf, Wilson, Mc Graw Hill 1978 2) Medical diagnosis & Treatment, Marcus A. Krupp, Milton J. Chatton, 1980 3) Principals and practice of medicine, Harvey, Johns, Mckusick, Owens, Ross, Appleton - Century - Crofts 1979. 4) Medical & health Encyclopedia, Sidney S. Schipper, Round the world books, 1988 5) World Book Encyclopedia, 1992