In 1988, Hepatitis due to alcohol occurred in about 28.6% of the affected patients, whereas in 2016 this number had escalated to 51.8%!
Hepatitis is a disorder that causes swelling of the liver. Although this condition can be controlled, lack of timely action can cause progression of Hepatitis into fibrosis, cirrhosis or liver cancer. Firstly, Fibrosis is characterised by scarring of the liver. Cirrhosis is the later stage of the disease fibrosis. It is attributed by liver pain and fluid accumulation in the leg. Hepatitis is a primary viral disease caused by Hepatitis viruses. This disease can be caused due to alcohol abuse or prolonged ingestion of certain drugs.
There are five main types of Hepatitis viruses: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis D, and lastly, Hepatitis E. Generally, severe Hepatitis may be associated with either limited or no symptoms. These symptoms are jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. The treatments for this condition are governed by the following type of causative viruses, factors and visible symptoms, in Table 1.
Hepatitis Symptoms, Treatment as per the Type:
| Sr. No. | Type of Hepatitis Virus | Causes | Symptoms | Treatment |
| 01. | Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) | Contaminated water, food, certain sex practices | Fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and low-grade fever | Safe and effective vaccines are available and can be prevented |
| 02. | Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) | Infective blood, semen, body fluids, from mother to child at the time of birth, HBV contaminated injections, etc. | Yellowing of the eyes, abdominal pain and dark urine.
In chronic cases, liver failure, cancer or scarring |
Safe and effective vaccines are available and can be prevented |
| 03. | Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) | Exposure to infective blood, HCV-contaminated blood and blood products, injections, drug use | No characteristic symptoms but can be associated with fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite and yellowing of the eyes and skin | No vaccine |
| 04. | Hepatitis D Virus (HDV) | Occurs in those infected with HBV | Abdominal pain, nausea and fatigue | Hepatitis B vaccines |
| 05. | Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) | Caused due to contaminated water or food | Jaundice, lack of appetite and nausea, rarely acute liver failure | Vaccines are developed but not widely available |
Particularly in India, the number of patients with alcohol-related Hepatitis are alarmingly increasing. In 1988, Hepatitis due to alcohol occurred in about 28.6% of the affected patients, whereas in 2016 this number had escalated to 51.8%.
Dr. Baruch S. Blumberg discovered HBV in the year of 1967. Two years later, he also developed the first Hepatitis B vaccine, which led him to winning the Nobel Prize. Thus, in recognition of his significant contribution towards the Hepatitis disease, the World Health Organisation observes the ‘World Hepatitis Day’ on his birthday, that is July 28 . The theme for celebrating this day was ‘Test. Treat. Hepatitis’ in 2018. On the other hand, in 2019, the theme was ‘Find The Missing Millions’.
The objective behind celebrating the ‘World Hepatitis Day’ is to raise awareness about the Hepatitis disease in addition to enable outreach of related treatments to maximum number of patients around the world.
Editor: Dr. Prajakta Dandekar-Jain
References:
- https://www.who.int/features/qa/76/en/
- http://www.worldhepatitisday.org/
- http://www.worldhepatitisalliance.org/
- https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/worldhepdayresources.htm:
- https://www.who.int/hepatitis/publications/global-hepatitis-report2017/en/,
- http://www.worldhepatitisalliance.org/world-hepatitis-day
- https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hepatitis-day/2018
- https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/worldhepdayresources.htm
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5606974/
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