Causes : This must not be confused with jaundice or any other depraved liver function or disorder. Here, some virus infection causes inflammation of the liver or amaebic dysentery and lupus. Infectitious hepatits is generally caused by contaminated food or drink, either by a patient or a carrier and generally occurs where there is poor sanitation.
Symptoms
After an incubation of 15-30 days the patient develops fever and nausea, yellow discolouration of the skin (as in jaundice) ap*pears after a week or so thereafter, and persists for about 3 weeks. There are not much complications as the disease generally yields to treatment and doesn’t recur, except when the patient gets again infected. In any case, proper treatment can provide immunity.
Treatment: Injection of’Gamma Globulin’ provides temporary protection.
Serum Hepatitis : Causes : This generally occurs in drug ad*dicts. The infection is transmitted by blood or blood products that contaminate injection needles. That is the reason why disposable syringes and needles are recommended to be used when an injec*tion is intended to be given. There is hardly any chance of infec*tion when disposal syringes are destroyed after being used once only. In some places, those used syringes are not destroyed and, thus, used for other patients. This is unethical and condemnable practice. So, whenever you are to be injected always carry your own syringe and needle and destroy the same after taking the in*jection. Treatment depends on the type of infection.
Symptoms : Headache, fever, chills, jaundice and general weak*ness. The disease can be identified by detection of ‘Australian Antigen’ in their blood.
Treatment: It will depend upon the kind of infection imbibed and presence of symptoms. In some cases, infection is so serious as to cause death even though only 5-20% patients die due to such an infection.
Young infants, pregnant ladies, drug addicts, persons of weak constitution are more likely to be infected easily, though no per*son, or sex is immune to it. Hence, precaution is the only way to stay free of such blood transmitted infections.