WOMEN’S BODIES: HEPATITIS В VIRUS (HBV)

Posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 8:52 am

HBV infection is passed on when body fluids or secretions from an infected person get into another person’s body through a break in the skin or a lining membrane. HBV has been found in blood, semen, vaginal secretions, saliva, urine, breast milk, discharges, sweat and even tears.

Hepatitis В is of particular concern for women because a woman who is a chronic carrier (see below) or who develops hepatitis В infection during pregnancy may pass the infection on to her baby, usually during birth. Children infected this way usually become carriers.

HBV is very easy to catch. You can pick it up through sexual contact, blood transfusion, sharing syringes and needles, contaminated instruments (such as those used for tattooing, ear piercing, acupuncture, dental and medical procedures), mouth-to-mouth contact and by contact of any infected fluid with a cut or abrasion on any body surface.

Hepatitis В is not strictly classified as an STD because it is not exclusively passed on by sexual contact, though this is probably the most common means of transmission in Western countries. Homosexual men and men or women with many sexual partners are those most likely to be infected through sex. Catching the virus from blood transfusion, which was once believed to be the most common means of infection, is now rare because of screening of donors. (Blood from transfusion services in Australia and many other countries is now tested for hepatitis В and C, HIV and syphilis). People at most risk of catching hepatitis В non-sexually include health workers who come in contact with blood or secretions from infected people, intravenous drug users and mentally handicapped people living in institutions.

After infection with HBV there is an incubation period during which the virus multiplies in the body. Symptoms usually begin between six and twelve weeks after infection, though the incubation period can range from four weeks to six months. The symptoms often come on gradually: you may feel feverish and unwell for several days before you notice jaundice, which may take several days more to develop its deepest colour.

Of the adults who get hepatitis B, 95 per cent overcome the virus by developing antibodies that eradicate it from the body. Once the antibodies are doing their work, the jaundice begins to fade, usually taking one to two weeks to disappear. Other symptoms of disturbed liver function may subside more slowly: it may be weeks or even months before you feel quite well again. In general, the more severe the attack, the longer it takes to recover. After complete recovery you are immune from hepatitis В infection in the future.

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