Erika Suhl
Final Exam Paper
Hepatitis B
According to George Longstreth of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, he
states that “Hepatitis B is a liver infection that is usually spread when blood, semen, or another
body fluid from a person infected with Hepatitis B enters the body of someone who is not
infected.” (Longsteth, George. 2013). Some common ways that an individual can conduct a
disease such as Hepatitis B is through sexual contact with an infected person, sharing needles,
syringes or other drug-injection equipment or through the birth canal of an infected mother.
Although studies show that Hepatitis B is the most common liver infection in the world and is
100 times more infectious than the AIDS virus it is both preventable as well as treated if detected
with six months of diagnosis.
By definition Hepatitis means “inflammation of the liver” and that is exactly what
Hepatitis B does. This disease is a direct attack on the liver. According to Stephanie Slon of the
Hepatitis B Foundation she states that “A healthy liver is soft and flexible. With a chronic
hepatitis B infection, however, the liver is constantly under attack by the virus and eventually it
can become hardened over time.” (Slon, Stephanie. 2012). The reason why the liver is so vital to
our survival and why it is unhealthy to contract this disease is because the liver does some of the
most important work in our bodies. George Krucik a professor at Harvard University said that
some functions of the liver are that it “Stores vitamins, sugar and iron to help give your body
energy, produces immune factors and removes bacteria from the bloodstream to combat infection
and clears your blood of water products, drugs and other poisonous substances. “ (Krucik,
George. 2013). As clearly stated, the livers function is vital to the human body and any disease
that negatively affects it is detrimental to one’s life.
Although this disease can take a toll on the human body it is preventable by vaccination.
After a discontinuation of the Hepatitis B vaccine in 1981 by the Food and Drug Administration,
in 1986 the safest vaccination was approved and is still available in present day. According to
the World Health Organization “The hepatitis B vaccine is the most widely used vaccine in the
world, with over 1 billion doses given. Since HBV accounts for 80% of all liver cancer
worldwide, the hepatitis B vaccine is the first anti-cancer vaccine to be developed.” (World
Health Organization, 2013). This statement released by the World Health Organization proves
how effective this vaccination is and gives hope to individuals who have been diagnosed with
this disease. With just three shots over a six month course a person can be completely safe from
Hepatitis B. Studies even show that if an individual gets one of the three shots they are already
fifty percent protected from the disease and with two of the three, they are eight percent
protected. This just shows how potent and ultimately lifesaving this vaccination truly is.
If unfortunately an individual does acquire this disease it can lead to major health
complications or even death. Although it is not common, some people will not show symptoms
of this disease up to six months after they were infected. In these situations if Hepatitis B is not
found before the six month period they will have “Chronic Hepatitis B” which means that a
person’s risk for developing liver disease, liver damage, or the possibility of liver transplant can
increase. Due to the high number of liver transplants in the country, without a timely transplant a
victim of this disease can die and unfortunately about 5,000 Americans do in fact die of hepatitis
B-related liver complications each year.
If Hepatitis B is caught prior to the six month range, this would be considered “Acute
Hepatitis B” disease. When a person contracts the early stages of Hepatitis that individual will
show common symptoms such as appetite loss, fatigue, low fever, muscle and joint aches,
vomiting and yellow skin. I believe that if the average person saw these symptoms arising in the
same time frame he or she would seek medical attention. These symptoms are the early detectors
of this disease and without them people soon find themselves as carriers of chronic Hepatitis
instead of the acute Hepatitis. The advantage of catching this disease early is that, according to
David Zieve of the National Institute of Health he stated that “Acute Hepatitis needs no
treatment other than careful monitoring of liver and other body functions with blood tests.”
(Zieve, David. 2014). It is hard to believe that the one side of Hepatitis requires little to no
treatment but the more serious side can lead to cancer and even death. Only a couple of months
can decipher whether someone lives a normal day to day life or if they start the journey of
fighting to stay alive.
As for today, no new research has come forward in regards to Hepatitis B. The vaccine
has been more than affective in the world and has saved millions of lives. I personally believe
that researchers will continue to perfect all vaccinations in order to enhance safety for those who
have not been vaccinated yet but right now no new vaccination research has surfaced.
Ultimately, Hepatitis B is a disease that is very easy to contract and after researching this topic it
has raised great awareness for safety. Due to the countless ways that this disease can be passed it
is understandable why so many people globally have this disease but with the significant impact
that the vaccine has made on the world, this disease is ultimately livable if caught early.
Resources
1. Krucik, George. “Hepatitis B”. Harvard University, 2013.
2. Longstreth, George. “What to Know About Hepatitis B”. Center for Disease Control and
Prevention , 2013.
3. Slon, Stephanie. “Hepatitis Fact Sheet”. Hepatitis B Foundation, 2012.
4. “Hepatitis B News and Research”. World Health Organization, 2013.
5. Zieve, David. “Attack on Hepatitis B Virus”. National Institute of Health, 2014.