Hepatitis

The word hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by one of many things, including a bacterial infection, liver injury caused by a toxin (poison), and even an attack on the liver by the body's own immune system. However, the condition is usually caused by a virus. The three most common hepatitis viruses are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C.

The hepatitis A virus is transmitted through the faeces (poop) of infected individuals. People usually get hepatitis A by eating food or drinking water that's been contaminated with faeces. As disgusting as that sounds though, hepatitis A is actually considered less destructive than some other hepatitis viruses.

Hepatitis В is a more serious infection. It may lead to a condition called cirrhosis (permanent scarring of the liver) or liver cancer, both of which cause severe illness and even death. Hepatitis В virus is transmitted from person to person through blood or other body fluids.

The hepatitis С virus (HCV) is transmitted from person to person through blood or other body fluids. Like hepatitis B, hepatitis С can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Hepatitis С is the most serious type of hepatitis. It's now one of the most common reasons for liver transplants in adults. And there's no cure and no vaccine.

Hepatitis infection causes inflammation of the liver, which means that the liver becomes swollen and damaged and begins losing its ability to function. People with hepatitis often get symptoms similar to those caused by other virus infections, such as weakness, tiredness, and nausea. Because the symptoms of hepatitis are similar to other conditions, it's easy for someone who has it to confuse it with another illness.

In addition, people with hepatitis A may not show any symptoms, so the infection can go undiagnosed. People with hepatitis В or С infection also may not show symptoms right away, but can develop health problems from the infection many years later. Even when infected people don't have any symptoms, they can still pass the disease on to others.

Symptoms of hepatitis include: yellowing of the skin and eyes, known as jaundice, fever, nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite, abdominal pain (on the upper right side), light-coloured bowel movements, dark-coloured urine, etc.

A blood test is usually needed to determine if a person has hepatitis.

Doctors don't prescribe medications to treat hepatitis A; they usually recommend resting until any fever and jaundice are gone and the person's appetite has returned to normal. It is also important to stay well hydrated by drinking lots of fluids.

Hepatitis В and С can sometimes be treated with medications, although some forms of medication used to treat hepatitis С are only approved for use in adults. Although treatments for hepatitis В and С are becoming more effective, a cure cannot be guaranteed.

Hiv/aids

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. HIV is actually the virus that causes the disease AIDS. This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumours.

People who are HIV positive have been tested and found to have signs of the human immunodeficiency virus in their blood. HIV destroys part of the immune system. Specifically, it affects a type of white blood cell called the T lymphocyte, or T cell. T cells are one type of "fighter" cell in the blood that helps the body fight off all kinds of germs and diseases.

Someone who is infected with the virus is called HIV positive. But it may take years for the virus to damage enough T cells for that person to get sick and develop AIDS. And thanks to new medications, someone infected with HIV can stay relatively healthy and symptom-free for many years. But these medications are very expensive and not available to everyone in the world.

The majority of people get infected with HIV: by having sexual contact with a person who has HIV; sharing needles or syringes (used to inject illegal drugs) with a person who has HIV; an infected pregnant woman passes it to her unborn child; a person has a blood transfusion from a fairly large volume of blood.

The symptoms of AIDS are primarily the result of conditions that do not normally develop in individuals with healthy immune systems. Most of these conditions are infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that are normally controlled by the elements of the immune system that HIV damages.

An HIV-positive person will eventually begin to feel sick. The person might start to have swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, fevers that come and go, infections in the mouth, diarrhoea, or he or she might feel tired for no reason all of the time. Eventually, the virus can infect all of the body's organs, including the brain, making it hard for the person to think and remember things. When a person's T cell count gets very low, the immune system is so weak that many different diseases and infections by other germs can develop. Other infections can affect the eyes, the organs of the digestive system, the kidneys, the lungs, and the brain. Some people develop rare kinds of cancers of the skin or immune system.

Right now there is no cure for HIV or AIDS, but new medicines can help people live longer lives. Scientists are also researching vaccines that may one day help to prevent HIV infection, but it's a very tough assignment, and no one knows when these vaccines might become available. It's up to everyone to prevent AIDS by avoiding the behaviours that lead to HIV infection.

People can help stop the spread of HIV by avoiding sexual contact with infected people and by not sharing needles or syringes.

Health care workers (such as doctors, nurses, and dentists) help prevent the spread of HIV by wearing plastic gloves when working on a patient. Hospitals have strict procedures for handling samples of blood and other body fluids to prevent others from coming in contact with HIV.