Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, most commonly caused by a viral infection.Inflammation is the body’s response to injury or irritation.
Viruses are responsible for hepatitis in which differ from one another in some ways to share several traits, First they generally infect only hepatocytes and then on the other side bacteria can infect different parts of the body. People infected with hepatitis viruses are highly contagious for days or even weeks before they realize they are sick.
Hepatitis viruses generally do not destroy the living cells in which they replicate.Instead,the original infected cell releases new viruses that move on to infect other hepatocytes.The first cell is damaged,but not destroyed.Usually the liver can repair the damaged hepatocyte.However over a period of years of rebuilding of hepatocytes can cause long term liver damage.
There are five main hepatitis viruses referred as types A, B, C,D and E in which cause potential outbreaks and epidemic spread globally.In particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and, together, are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer.
Hepatitis A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water. Hepatitis B, C and D usually occur as a result of parenteral contact with infected body fluids. Common modes of transmission for these viruses include receipt of contaminated blood or blood products, invasive medical procedures using contaminated equipment and for hepatitis B transmission from mother to baby at birth, from family member to child, and also by sexual contact.
Hepatitis Pathophysiology & Disease Process(Diagram)
References:
- Health Reports:Diseases and Disorders Hapatitis by Connie Goldsmith
- Delmars Critical Care Nursing Care Plans 2nd edition.
- http://www.who.int/topics/hepatitis/en/
