HYDERABAD: Doctors have warned that Hepatitis B and C viruses in association with alcohol and obesity could result in severe liver damage leading to life – threatening complications.
With around 4-8 per cent of the State’s population carrying Hepatitis B virus, which wound remain dormant for many years, the experts said the inactive carrier must refrain from drinking alcohol, make lifestyle changes for not putting on weight and have rehear liver checks.
“We have more liver diseases since alcohol consumption and obesity are rampant” said Dr. P.N. Rao, chief hepato logiest at the A Sian Institute of Gastroenterology.
“In patients, who are obese and suffering from fatty liver, any of the Hepatitis viruses would cause more liver damage,” says Dr. Manisha Banger, Head of Gastroenterology and Herpetology, CARE Hospitals.
After remaining dormant for many yeas, the liver disease usually gets detected as an “incidental finding”.
Hepatitis B virus was always a dynamic virus and at some stage it might become active.
The liver undergoes inflammation and “this happens without any symptom”.
The disease due to severe liver failure either in the from of ‘jaundice”, water in the abdomen or swelling in the legs.
Even as Hepatitis B vaccination has been included in the universal immunization scheme by the State government more than a year ago, both the experts underscored the importance of vaccinating newborns and screening pregnant women to bring down the carrier rate. In the case of Hepatitis C virus, screening of blood would help reduce its infection.
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver and could be caused either by viral infection or due to alcohol consumption or drugs. Hepatitis ‘B’ and ’C viruses are the most damaging of the five types and could cause liver failure and cancer. Both these could be transmitted through contact with blood and other body fluids of an infected person. With unsafe injection practices and tattooing, the watchwords these days should be “Safe needle, safe blood and safe sex,” said Dr. Rao
“It’s closer than you think” is this year’s theme for the July 20 – World Hepatitis Day, which seeks to raise awareness on preventing diseases caused by Hepatitis viruses, said Dr. Manisha.
In Hepatitis B infection, mother-to-child transmission or getting infected from a family member during childhood (up to five years) was one of the common causes in India. In70-80 per cent of the cases contracted during childhood, the virus would remain dormant for many years but keeps damaging the liver and eventually gets manifested as chronic liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma.
Thank you
THE HINDU JULY11,2012
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