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Hepatitis B Research Paper

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Hepatitis D Virus
What is Hepatitis D Virus? It is an inflammation of the liver. This viral infection caused by the hepatitis D virus (previously called the Delta agent) can be self-limiting and the swelling can impair liver function and cause long-term liver problems, including liver scarring and cancer.
This virus was found by a doctor named Mario Rizzetto. He came up with the antigen that was found in the in the liver cells of some patients that had been infected with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). According to research 850,000 people in the U.S. are estimated to be living with hepatitis B. The actual number may be as high as 2.2 million or as low as 730,000. Hepatitis D itself, the number is unknown, but it does coexist with Hepatitis B. Hepatitis …show more content…

Such as urine, semen, blood, through pregnancy-mother and child, and vaginal fluids.
The diease affects the body with signs and symptoms that are jaundice, dark urine, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, confusion, bruising, and bleeding which is rare, and pruritus(itching). Scleral icterus, Fever, Tea-colored urine, Encephalopathy (which is rare), petechia with bruising (which is rare). Studies say that about 90% of the patients that have this are asymptomatic.
The Hepatitis D infection is diagnosed with several blood tests for the virus and the anti-HDV antibodies are detected by radioimmunoassay (RIA) or enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Once the blood test is done, if antibodies are discovered in the blood then that basically means the person has come in contact with the virus. They also might do another test to check a person’s liver. This test is called the Liver Function Test(LFTs). This test will just tell them how much protein, bilirubin, and liver enzymes are in the blood. At that point they will be able to say if the liver is just stress or if there is complete …show more content…

There is no vaccine available for HDV, but the HBV vaccination is effective against HDV as a prevention in people who are not already HBV-infected by hepatitis B vaccination. No pharmacologic treatment for HDV has been approved yet. It has been found that the antiviral medication that is used for other types of hepatitis don’t work with hepatitis D. Patients are given large doses of the medication interferon to try and help manage the hepatitis. It is given for at least a year. This medication is a protein that could possibly stop the virus from continuing to spread and put it in remission. However, it is not always successful in that even after using the medication patients still might have a positive test for hepatitis D. So, we have to teach people to still be cautious and change lifestyles if they have a high-risk lifestyle so that the diease is not transmitted to anyone else. Hepatitis D is not curable and pretty much eventually it will lead to liver damage or cirrhosis of the liver. At that point if the liver is damaged too much they will need or end up with a transplant of the

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