Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)
What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis means the inflammation of the liver and hepatitis B is a specific type of this infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The symptoms of HBV infection vary from person to person. Many people with HBV infection don’t develop any symptoms, especially when they are young, and most patients with chronic HBV infection don’t develop any symptoms until late stage. However, HBV can damage the hepatocyte (liver cell) and cause liver damage and cirrhosis (scarring of the liver). HBV can cause both acute and chronic infection (infections that can’t be resolved after six months). When patients are first infected with HBV they can develop flu like acute symptoms, including fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, …show more content…
The average HBV infection prevalence is estimated to be 3.6% and this varies significantly depending on geographic locations as shown in Figure 1 (2). Areas with higher HBV prevalence include West Africa, the Pacific Asia and China where most patients were infected during childhood (8). Regions with intermediate rate of prevalence are Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and India. North America, Western and Northern Europe have very low HBV prevalence where most patients become infected in adulthood (9).
The burden of disease for hepatitis can be quantified in terms of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) which is the sum of Years Lived with Disability (YLD) and Years of Life Lost (YLL). Global DALYs (per 100,000) for acute hepatitis B, liver cancer secondary to hepatitis B and cirrhosis of the liver secondary to hepatitis B are 68, 130 and 130 respectively (10). The economic burden of HBV infection is also significant especially during end stage liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer with an average medical cost of $40,512 over 2 years for a patient with chronic HBV infection
Hepatitis means the inflammation of the liver and hepatitis B is a specific type of this infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The symptoms of HBV infection vary from person to person. Many people with HBV infection don’t develop any symptoms, especially when they are young, and most patients with chronic HBV infection don’t develop any symptoms until late stage. However, HBV can damage the hepatocyte (liver cell) and cause liver damage and cirrhosis (scarring of the liver). HBV can cause both acute and chronic infection (infections that can’t be resolved after six months). When patients are first infected with HBV they can develop flu like acute symptoms, including fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, …show more content…
The average HBV infection prevalence is estimated to be 3.6% and this varies significantly depending on geographic locations as shown in Figure 1 (2). Areas with higher HBV prevalence include West Africa, the Pacific Asia and China where most patients were infected during childhood (8). Regions with intermediate rate of prevalence are Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and India. North America, Western and Northern Europe have very low HBV prevalence where most patients become infected in adulthood (9).
The burden of disease for hepatitis can be quantified in terms of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) which is the sum of Years Lived with Disability (YLD) and Years of Life Lost (YLL). Global DALYs (per 100,000) for acute hepatitis B, liver cancer secondary to hepatitis B and cirrhosis of the liver secondary to hepatitis B are 68, 130 and 130 respectively (10). The economic burden of HBV infection is also significant especially during end stage liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer with an average medical cost of $40,512 over 2 years for a patient with chronic HBV infection