Hormones 2016

Hepatitis
Viral causes of hepatitis
There are seven viruses that are known to cause hepatitis. These are
designated by the letters A to G. However, the cause of some hepatitis is
still unknown, leading scientists to believe there are other viruses that have
yet to be discovered.
The three most common viral forms of hepatitis are -
• Hepatitis A,
• Hepatitis B,
• Hepatitis C,
The other forms of hepatitis - D, E, F and G - are very rare (tht, 2015a).
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is caused by a virus that infects the liver. It is easy to pass
on during sex or get from contaminated food and water. Nearly everyone
makes a full recovery (tht, 2015b).
Symptoms
Hepatitis A symptoms can be so mild you may not realise you have it, but
up to six weeks after infection it can cause -
• mild flu-like symptoms,
• diarrhoea,
• nausea,
• extreme tiredness,
• itchy skin,
• stomach pain,
• jaundice (tht, 2015b)
Symptoms can last several weeks, taking months to get back to normal.
Transmission
Someone with hepatitis A is most infectious two weeks before jaundice
appears.
The virus lives in faeces and minute traces of it carry the infection on
the hands or on food prepared by an infected person. Water can also be
contaminated, especially abroad.
The virus needs to get into the mouth to infect someone. This can happen
during sex when tiny amounts of faeces get on fingers and into mouths
through -
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