One of the most important organs in the body is the liver. She is able to renew damaged cells. Many liver diseases at the initial stage do not manifest any symptoms. Severe disturbances in the body often indicate that the disease is running. One of the causes of liver disease can be a virus. There are hepatitis A, B, C, D, E. viruses. Currently, there are vaccines that can help protect against viral diseases. Consider what viral hepatitis A means, which prevention is carried out against this disease.
Hepatitis A Characterization
Viral hepatitis A is also called Botkin's disease. It belongs to the group of intestinal infections, since infection occurs through the intestines. This is an acute infection of the liver caused by a virus. This form of the disease does not cause permanent damage to the liver and does not go into the chronic stage.
After a person is ill with hepatitis A, he develops immunity.
Children tolerate the disease much more easily than adults. The virus spreads easily indoors, which is why the disease is characteristic of kindergartens and schools. In adults, there may be complications after hepatitis A.
You can protect yourself from this disease by vaccination. Which categories are required to be vaccinated is established by the order on the prevention of viral hepatitis in SanPiNah.
Symptoms of the disease
The incubation period is 3-4 weeks. There are several stages of the disease:
- Yellowish.
- Icteric.
- Reconvalescence.
The initial icteric period has characteristic stages:
- Feverish. It has the following severe symptoms:
- Weakness.
- Headache.
- Rhinitis.
- Appetite worsens.
- Nausea.
2. Dyspeptic:
- Bitterness in the mouth.
- Indigestion.
- Burping.
- Pain on the right side under the rib.
- Violation of bowel movements.
- Epigastric pain.
3. Asthenovegetative:
- General weakness.
- Sleep disturbance.
- Lethargy.
The period can take from 2 to 10 days. Sometimes hepatitis A immediately begins with jaundice. Some symptoms decrease and disappear, others worsen and develop.
Jaundice has the following symptoms:
- Fever is decreasing.
- Signs of intoxication disappear.
- The general condition improves.
- Digestive disorder persists and worsens.
- Epigastric pain.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Violation of the stool.
- Urine darkens to the color of a dark beer.
- The sclera and mucous membranes of the soft palate, frenulum, and tongue become yellow.
- The skin turns yellow.
If the condition worsens, then the skin color becomes a more intense saffron hue. But you need to focus on the symptoms of intoxication and digestive upset.
It is worth noting the manifestations of the severe course of the disease:
- Yellow plaque on teeth, tongue.
- Signs of hemorrhagic syndrome.
- The liver is enlarged.
- The spleen is enlarged.
- Blood pressure is low.
- Bradycardia is heard.
- The feces are discolored.
- Sleep is disturbed.
- Overwork.
- Increased sweating.
- Lack of air.
- Psycho-emotional state is unstable.
The period of jaundice lasts 2 weeks. Then comes convalescence. It proceeds as follows:
- The liver is bouncing back.
- Signs of jaundice are reduced.
- Symptoms of intoxication are reduced.
- Laboratory indicators are normalized.
This period can last for 3-6 months.
Hepatitis A occurs in mild or moderate form. Severe cases of the disease are rare.
Possible complications
In the treatment of hepatitis A, there is a risk:
- Joining a secondary infection.
- Cholecystitis.
- Biliary dyskinesia and gall bladder.
- Cholangitis.
- Rarely, hepatic encephalopathy.
If the disease is not treated and severely launched, it can lead to:
- Liver failure. Lethal outcome is possible.
- Liver cancer.
It is worth noting that with hepatitis A, there is a high risk of complications, as a rule, in adults, especially in people of the following categories:
- The patient had liver ailments.
- Drinking alcohol regularly.
- After hepatitis A, the recommended diet proposed by the doctor for the recovery period is not observed.
- Patients with increased physical activity after illness. Abstention from loads is required for some time.
Features of hepatitis A in children
As noted earlier, children are most often affected by hepatitis A. The virus can lead to epidemics and appear in individual cases.
Most often, children from 3 to 7 years old are sick.
Up to a year, as a rule, children are not infected, they are protected by antibodies that are transmitted from the mother at birth. When breastfeeding and during childbirth, hepatitis A is not transmitted.
50% of children tolerate the disease easily. It has the following symptoms:
- Weak intoxication.
- Body temperature is elevated to low values.
- The liver is enlarged slightly.
- Yellowness passes quickly.
30% of children tolerate moderate hepatitis A. The following symptoms are characteristic:
- Pain in the right hypochondrium.
- The skin and mucous membranes have a characteristic yellow tint.
- The amount of urine decreases, it is dark in color.
- The liver has a dense structure.
10% of children suffer a severe illness:
- Severe intoxication.
- A significant increase in the liver and spleen.
- Weakness, apathy.
- Bleeding from the nose.
- Yellowness of the skin and mucous membranes.
- Dramatic weight loss.
Who is at risk
It should be noted who is most at risk for hepatitis A.
Prevention of HIV and viral hepatitis for these categories must include vaccination:
- If the family has hepatitis A, family members are at risk of becoming infected.
- Workers in kindergartens, schools, educational institutions.
- Children who visit gated public places.
- Sellers at grocery stores.
- Lesbian orientation.
- Drug addicts.
- Hospital staff.
- Workers cleaning sewers and serving water pipes.
- People traveling on business trips to countries with a high incidence of hepatitis A.
Also include:
- People who do not follow basic hygiene rules.
- In the absence of water supply and sewerage at home.
- If you have trouble providing clean water for drinking and cooking.
- Lack of vaccination in areas particularly prone to hepatitis.
To prevent infection, you need to know how the virus spreads.
Methods for the spread of hepatitis
Viral hepatitis spread through contacts. Routes of transmission, prevention should be known to everyone. The virus passes from a sick person to a healthy one.
The most common infection routes:
- Conversation at close range.
- Through arms, hugs.
- Kisses
- By airborne droplets. Sneezing, coughing.
- Sharing household items.
- Shared toilet.
- Insufficiently washed fruits and vegetables. Especially those that are fertilized with organic fertilizers.
- Poorly processed meat, fish with leftover blood. Also clams and mussels.
- Contact with the blood of an infected person.
- Public transport, counters and handrails.
- An open pond with contaminated water.
- Contaminated tap water.
- Non-sterile syringes.
- Sexual contact with an infected person.
The virus persists at high ambient temperatures and in unsanitary conditions. In salt and fresh water, the virus can persist for up to several months.
Installed SanPiNs
The Order on the Prevention of Viral Hepatitis No. 408 was issued back in 1989. Prevention of the disease is based precisely on its main provisions. This order approved the measures that must be taken to exclude infection during treatment in hospitals and during blood transfusion procedures. I would also like to note that it was this order that introduced the norm for the treatment of hepatitis infected in special infectious hospitals.
Hepatitis has a different epidemiological picture and distribution methods. Prevention of viral hepatitis in SanPiN sets the following requirements:
- Obligatory registration of patients in TsGSEN.
- If a person is sick and has primary or already acute signs of hepatitis, then he is subject to hospitalization.
- It is necessary to conduct tests for hepatitis to all people at risk. Doctors, donors, kindergarten workers and so on.
- Preventive examinations should identify the disease when applying for a job.
If the patient has hepatitis A
Note the measures to prevent viral hepatitis infection for people who live with a sick person:
- It is necessary to carry out disinfection.
- Bed linen and clothes of the patient must be boiled in a solution of the following composition: 20 grams of washing powder per 1 liter of water. Then wash in the washing machine.
- After eating, the sick person’s dishes must be boiled for 15 minutes each time in a solution of baking soda: 20 grams per 1 liter of water.
- Sanitize carpets. Use a solution of "Chloramine" 1%. Wet brush in mortar and clean carpet.
- Prepare a hot soapy and soda solution. Handle door handles, plumbing, toilet.
It is necessary to disinfect the foci of infection during the incubation period of viral hepatitis A. Prevention is very important in order to prevent the spread of infection.
Measures to prevent the spread of hepatitis
It should be noted that physicians must take steps to stop the spread of viral hepatitis A. Prevention in preschool institutions is as follows:
- Quarantine is introduced for 35 days in nurseries and kindergartens. It is forbidden to transfer children from one group to another during this period. Or change the kindergarten.
- Monitoring is established for everyone who has had contact with the patient. To do this, monitor the following indicators:
- Body temperature.
- The color of feces and urine.
- Yellowness of sclera and mucous membranes.
- Symptoms of SARS.
- The size of the liver and spleen.
- Every 20-30 days it is necessary to donate blood for antibodies to hepatitis A.
Immunoglobulin protection
It was found that in the autumn and winter months, infection occurs much more often. Therefore, it is necessary that viral hepatitis A does not spread, prophylaxis should be carried out in advance.
In order for children and pregnant women to be protected, they vaccinate. Human immunoglobulin is administered. This is passive immunization. Although the effect of such protection is only 2 months. It is carried out for children from 1 to 14 years old.
Such protection can help if a person is already infected and the incubation period of the disease develops. There will be no hepatitis in this case.
Also, those who have been in contact with the patient need to enter "Immunoglobulin" within 2 weeks after infection. The drug is well tolerated, has no contraindications and side effects, therefore it is allowed even to pregnant women.
In this case, it is impossible to become infected with HIV. Viruses lose their activity.
Tasks and goals of prevention
To prevent viral hepatitis from spreading, epidemiology and prevention must be followed.
Epidemiological surveillance performs the following tasks:
- Informational.
- Diagnostic
- Managerial.
All this work is done by epidemiologists. After analyzing the situation, collecting information, diagnostics are carried out and emergency decisions are made. And also a prognosis of incidence and a plan for the development of programs that will reduce the number of cases.
It is worth noting that the goal of hepatitis prevention is to reduce the risk of infection with:
- Conducting surgical interventions.
- With hemodialysis.
- With a blood transfusion.
And also reduce the spread of viral hepatitis A and reduce the number of cases.
Emergency prevention
Emergency prevention of viral hepatitis and HIV is necessary in contact with the infected. Often this is necessary for doctors who come in contact with patients:
- Within 2 days after close contact, a blood test should be taken to detect the virus in the blood.
- Vaccinate in three stages. The first immediately after contact. Second in a week. Third in three weeks. And revaccination in a year.
If there was sexual contact with the infected, emergency preventive measures are carried out in the same way.
In order not to have to use emergency prophylaxis of parenteral viral hepatitis, health workers must take the following precautions:
- Follow sterilization process technology.
- Use only disposable materials: syringes, droppers, gloves.
- Regular sterilization of inventory, surface treatment and reusable items.
- Patients at risk should be tested for hepatitis and examined by a doctor.
Preventive vaccination
Prevention of HIV infection and viral hepatitis is necessary.
Hepatitis Vaccination is carried out according to the following scheme:
- The first vaccination is done.
- A month later, the second.
- The third must be done after 6 months.
Vaccination should be carried out:
- To the children.
- To medical workers.
- The military.
- People with chronic liver disease.
- With chronic blood diseases.
Prevention of HIV infection and viral hepatitis is also necessary:
- To medical workers.
- Students of medical schools.
- Lesbian people.
- People who have an active sex life.
- HIV infected.
- Those in places of detention.
- Patients with chronic liver and blood diseases.
- Children born to an HIV-infected mother.
Hepatitis B vaccination reduces the risk of getting hepatitis D. If a person develops C and G, he needs to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B. Since there is a high chance of getting them.
Hepatitis C, E, FG vaccines have not yet been developed.
Preventative measures
The prevention of viral hepatitis is very important. The general requirements are discussed below:
- Compliance with hygiene rules.
- Wash vegetables and fruits with boiled water.
- For drinking, use purified water or boiled.
- Do not use other people's personal care products or personal care products.
- Remember and abide by the rules of safe sex.
- Fight against domestic insects, rats and mice.
- Limit contact with sick people.
- Do not visit unverified tattoo parlors, medical and cosmetic facilities for sterilization of instruments.
- Carry out regular cleaning of rooms and street areas.
- Use disposable syringes and gloves.
- Hygiene products, toys, utensils are regularly sterilized.
- Disinfect the bathroom and bathrooms in a timely manner.
- Sterilize cosmetic instruments, medical devices and objects in contact with blood.
- Follow the rules for the disposal of used, especially infected, materials.
- If you have to contact a sick person, use protective equipment.
- An infected person needs to be immediately isolated.
Everyone should observe preventive measures for viral hepatitis; the health and quality of life of a person depend on this.