Hepatitis
From Encyclopedia of Sex and Sexuality
An inflammation or infection of the liver. Infectious hepatitis is usually caused by a virus. There are several different types of acute viral hepatitis, the two most common types being “type A” and “type B.” Early symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, joint and muscle aches, headache, sore throat, cough, and fever. More severe cases develop jaundice (yellowing of the skin), weight loss, enlargement of the liver, and abdominal discomfort. There is no medication or treatment that cures viral hepatitis although, in most cases, the body repairs itself within several months.
[edit] Type A
The hepatitis A virus is generally the less severe of the two. It is most commonly transmitted by eating food or drinking water or milk contaminated by feces containing the virus. It occurs most often in communities with overcrowding and poor sanitation facilities. Although not usually transmitted through sexual contact, type A hepatitis can be acquired by direct contact between the mouth of an uninfected person and the anus of an infected partner. A person infected with type A hepatitis may not develop clear symptoms or know that he or she has it. Almost all patients who are otherwise healthy recover.
[edit] Type B
The type B hepatitis virus is usually more severe than type A and is also more likely to be transmitted sexually. The virus is only rarely found in feces, even from an infected individual, but it is commonly found in semen, saliva, and vaginal secretions. Any of these body fluids may transmit hepatitis to another person during genital-genital, genital-oral, oral-oral and genital-anal sex. The likelihood that a person will transmit the hepatitis B virus to a sexual partner varies, depending on age, sexuality, number of sexual contacts, and whether the person has had other sexually transmitted diseases. It occurs in .5 per cent of the general population. In a population of people being treated in a sexually transmitted diseases clinic, the virus has been found in as many as 20 percent of heterosexuals who have been with more than fifty sexual partners. In the male homosexual community, more than 4 percent are infected and capable of transmitting the disease. However, female homosexuals have an extremely low likelihood of infection.
Hepatitis B is far more contagious than aids. The virus can be transmitted even without direct sexual contact. Approximately 1.2 million Americans are carriers of the virus and can infect other individuals; each year there are an additional 30,000 new carriers.
Most cases of type B hepatitis recover after three to four months but about 10 percent are associated with severe liver damage and the illness can be fatal. In the United States, an average of fourteen people die each day from ailments that occur more frequently following type B hepatitis, including cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. Worldwide, more than five thousand people die daily from the aftereffects of hepatitis B, making this the ninth leading cause of death.
Since there is no cure available once hepatitis has occurred, prevention is of great importance. One should certainly avoid any sexual contact with a known carrier of active viral hepatitis. Within the general population, however, people are often unaware that they are carriers of the virus. The use of a condom during sex may offer protection against transmission of hepatitis B virus but this has not been definitely proven. If a partner has already had a hepatitis B infection, their blood test may show that they are immune to another infection.
Hepatitis B is the only sexually transmitted disease for which there is an effective vaccine available. Those at greater risk of being infected include homosexual men, anyone with multiple sexual partners, passive partners during anal sex, and those having sexual contact with a hepatitis B carrier. Others at greater risk include health care personnel and others who render medical assistance, such as police and fire department personnel, and users of illicit drugs. People in these higher risk groups should consider being vaccinated, but since vaccination is only effective before the virus has already been contracted, it is a preventive measure, and not a treatment, for hepatitis B.
