Question

Hepatitis C - help with poster presentation! I need info for each of the boxes below regarding this liver disease.

YOU CAN SOLVE ON PIECES OF PAPER AND THEN UPLOAD OR JUST (COPY/PASTE) LABEL SECTIONS SUCH AS

SHEET #1: INFO

SHEET #2: EPIDEMIOLOGY, ETC

Figures and Table portions can be ignored. Do not have to be done.

1. Posters will consist of eight sheets of standard 8.5 x 11 paper that you will temporarily tack to large poster boards that I will provide. At the end of the poster session, I will collect these eight sheets of paper from you in a tidy little pile, so do not affix them to your own big sheet of poster board! The eight poster panels must contain the following information: Title Epidemiology Signs & Therapy, Your Name Prevention Symptoms Introduction Etiology Host-Pathogen Figure, Table Figure, Table Summary (100-150 Interactions (ie, words how does the pathogen cause References the signs & symptoms?)

Answer 1

SHEET #1: INFO

Title: Hepatitis C

Your Name: ABC

Introduction:

Hepatitis C is an infection caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) that attacks liver and leads to the inflammation. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates about 3% of the world’s population has been infected with the HCV and that there are more than the 170 million chronic carriers who are at risk of developing the liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer.

SHEET 2#: EPIDEMIOLOGY:

Geographical distribution

Hepatitis C is found worldwide. One of the most affected regions are WHO Eastern Mediterranean and European Regions, with prevalence of the 2.3% and 1.5% respectively. Prevalence of the HCV infection in other WHO regions varies from 0.5% to 1.0%.

Depending on country, hepatitis C virus infection can be concentrated in the certain populations (for example, among people who inject drugs) or in general populations. There are the multiple strains (or genotypes) of HCV virus and their distribution varies by the region.

Transmission

The hepatitis C virus is the bloodborne virus. It is the most commonly transmitted through:

• injecting drug use through sharing of the injection equipment;
• Reuse or inadequate sterilization of the medical equipment, especially syringes and needles in healthcare settings; and
• Transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products.

HCV can also be transmitted sexually and can be passed from the infected mother to her baby; however these modes of transmission are less common.

Hepatitis C does not spread through breast milk, food, water or by casual contact such as hugging, kissing and sharing food or drinks with the infected person.

Estimates obtained from modelling suggest that the worldwide, in 2015, there were about 1.75 million new HCV infections (globally, 23.7 new HCV infections per 100 000 people).

SHEET#3 : SIGNS & SYMPTOMS:

Acute HCV infection is the rarely diagnosed due to lack of the definitive symptoms. It is often referred to as the silent epidemic.Average time from exposure to the symptom onset is 4-15 weeks.

During this "acute infection period" - if the symptoms are present - they are not considerably different to any of the other viral syndrome. Usually experienced is the abdominal discomfort, nausea, fever, joint pain, fatigue, and infrequently jaundice (yellow tinge to skin and eyes) or the clay colored stools.

HCV becomes chronic when the virus remains in the blood a year after the acute infection period. Unless treated with medication, the infection is lifelong.

Most people have no physical complaints with chronic infection, while some may have ongoing episodes of abdominal pain, persistent fatigue, and aching joints.

After a 25-30 year period, this chronic infection may result in significant scarring (fibrosis) of the liver, which can progress to cirrhosis (complete fibrosis), liver failure, and possibly liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma). Frequently it is not until the liver is on the verge of collapse that the damage is apparent.

SHEET #4: THERAPY AND PREVENTION

Because HCV can only be transmitted through The blood to infected blood exposure, their are number of way to prevent spreading hepatitis C is by not sharing the needles, and avoiding all contact with anyone else's blood.

Liver scarring can be accelerated by obesity, smoking, diabetes and alcohol consumption.

Once identified, those infected with the HCV should receive both hepatitis A and B vaccines, and make lifestyle changes to promote the optimum liver health.

Obesity, smoking, diabetes and alcohol consumption can accelerate rate of liver scarring (fibrosis). It is important that all the individuals who are infected with the HCV maintain good health. which means:

• No smoking
• Maintaining ideal weight
• Managing co-existing health problems
• Abstaining from all alcohol
• Acetaminophen can be taken under the guidance of the managing provider. Ibuprofen should be avoided.

The current treatment for the chronic hepatitis C is a combination of medications. The choice of medication and the duration of treatment depends on genotype of virus. Genotype 1a is most prevalent in the US, and presently there are three recommended treatment options using in certain combination of medications listed below.

• Sofosbuvir
• Paritaprevir
• Ritonavir
• Ombitasvir
• Ribavirin
• Simeprevir
• Dasabuvir.

Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are newest agents available to treat the HCV. These medications work by the targeting specific steps in HCV life cycle and disrupting virus from the replicating.

Before the availability of DAAs, the treatment for the chronic HCV was lengthy and grueling, with less thanthe ideal cure rates. Now cure rates are over 90%. The average duration of the treatment is 8-12 weeks. The medications are well-tolerated with most common side effect being headache and fatigue.

New medications for HCV are costly with the price tag nearing $100,000 or more. However, average cost of the liver transplant is $578,000 - add the additional medical expenses for first year and cost approaches one million dollars.

Treating chronic HCV early in disease course before patient develops complications or progresses to life-threatening circumstances seems unequivocally the most logical choice.

In hepatitis C virus infection, treatment is prevention. Yet, two million persons in US do not know they are chronically infected.

As we continue with the education, risk-based screening, exposure prevention, and arrival of well-tolerated treatments, outlook for preventing serious liver complications and curing those who have chronic hepatitis C infection has never been better.