Hepatitis C Essay -- essays research papers

Hepatitis C has been referred to as a "Silent Epidemic," since it usually progresses slowly over m both years. Most people who are give with hepatitis C are not aware of any noticeable symptoms for as long as atomic number 53 to two decades after they are infected. In fact, by the time symptoms appear, the computer virus has probably already begun to damage the colored-colored. If the liver is injured and stops functioning, death leave behind forever be the outcome (Lieber). Liver failure from degenerative hepatitis C is one of the most common causes of liver transplants in the United States.Hepatitis C is an sack of the livers cells and tissues caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).Hepatitis C virus is blood-borne, which means it is spread by means of blood and blood products (Grady). afterward the breakthrough of hepatitis A virus in 1973 and hepatitis B in 1963, any cases of sharp-worded or degenerative hepatitis or cirrhosis without identifiable causes were placed into the social class of non-A non-B (NANB) hepatitis(Palmer108) . In 1989, a major breakthrough regarding this mysterious and intriguing sickness occurred, the hepatitis C virus was identified. Now, most hepatitis C viruses are believed to be the viruses trustworthy for about 90 percent of all cases of NANB.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease book and Prevention, approximately 1.8% of the U.S. population, or 3.9 million Ameri undersurfaces, need been infected with this chronic blood-borne virus. more or less 50,000 new cases of hepatitis C are estimated to occur in the United States individually year. Without proper and rough-and-ready treatment the death rate is expected to trine in the next fifteen years (Turkington 9). Seventy-five percent of those infected with the virus will stupefy chronic hepatitis and half of those people will develop cirrhosis of the liverDue to the fact that Hepatitis C is blood-borne thither are many ways a person can abbreviate H CV, and many types of people who are more prone to it than others. The most effective mode of transmission is when an infected persons blood gets into the bloodstream of another person. HCV can only enter the bloodstream by first getting through the protective covering skin, this is called percutaneous route. Common routes of infection include chevvy stick accidents among healthcare workers, shared needles that are used during body piercing, injecting outlawed drugs, and tattooing (Turkington 19).Another common ... ...eek so many people ignore them and go back to their normal lives. Once most people become infected with acute hepatitis C and are untreated, uncomplaining will develop chronic hepatitis. In fact 85 percent of infected people develop chronic hepatitis C (Palmer 118).Chronic hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure, and liver cancer (Hoofnagle). If Chronic hepatitis does not reverse itself, and a liver transplant is not done the liver will shrink, the kidneys will fail, and the patient will lapse into a coma (Bushie). The main symptom for chronic hepatitis in jaundice. The result is the yellowish appearance of the skin and eyes and the pee will become a brownish color (Leiber). Many patients have complained of red itchy rash on their bodies and pain in their lung and type AB areas (Bushie). The limbs often swell, and many experience brain fogs, where they forget what is happening well-nigh them. There are many symptoms that hepatitis C shares with other viruses, this is what makes it difficult to diagnose. After the diagnosis is made from the necessary blood tests, the doctor will fulfill a liver biopsy to determine the extent of inflammation and damage in the liver.