News tagged with hepatitis b

Administration of meningococcal vaccine with other routine infant vaccines appears effective

Administration of routine infant immunizations with a vaccine for serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis, a bacterium that is a cause of serious disease such as sepsis and meningitis, was effective against meningococcal strains ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

US recommends routine HPV vaccination for boys

US health authorities on Friday urged all boys age 11-12 to get a routine vaccination against the most common sexually transmitted disease, human papillomavirus, or HPV.

Medicine & Health / Health

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Coffee consumption reduces fibrosis risk in those with fatty liver disease

Caffeine consumption has long been associated with decreased risk of liver disease and reduced fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. Now, newly published research confirms that coffee caffeine consumption reduces ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

2012 adult immunization schedule broadens recommendations for HPV and hepatitis B vaccinations

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) now recommends routine HPV vaccination for males aged 11 to 12 years and catch-up vaccination for males aged 13 to 21. These are just two of the changes to the ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Many high-risk Americans don't get hepatitis B vaccine

Although there is an effective vaccine for hepatitis B and public health officials have a strong sense of who is at highest risk for the infectious liver disease, tens of thousands of people in the United ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gov't to adopt strict new limits on chimp research

(AP) -- Days in the laboratory are numbered for chimpanzees, humans' closest relative.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Group urges gov't to strictly limit chimp research

Chimpanzees should hardly ever be used for medical research, a prestigious scientific group told the government Thursday - advice that means days in the laboratory may be numbered for humans' closest relatives.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The body's own surveillance system against cancer

(Medical Xpress) -- Liver cell carcinoma is one of the most abundant malign cancer diseases worldwide. In the majority of cases its emergence is triggered by cirrhosis of the liver which is caused by chronic ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 09, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

European studies on risks of hepatocellular carcinoma

Among known risk factors for hepatocellular cancer, smoking, obesity, and heavy alcohol consumption, along with chronic hepatitis B and C infection, contribute to a large share of the disease burden in Europe, according to ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Oct 21, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

6,800 exposed to HIV or hepatitis at Ottawa clinic

Up to 6,800 people may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis an Ottawa clinic over the past decade, health officials warned Monday.

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 17, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Shark compound proves potential as drug to treat human viruses

A compound initially isolated from sharks shows potential as a unique broad-spectrum human antiviral agent, according to a study led by a Georgetown University Medical Center investigator and reported in the Proceedings of ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Danger signal limits Hepatitis C infection

Despite the fact that hepatitis C virus (HCV) persists chronically in about 80 percent of those infected, some liver cells remain free of the virus even after many years. Now Sung Key Jang of Pohang University of Science ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

NJ doctor loses license after hepatitis B outbreak

(AP) -- New Jersey officials have revoked the medical license of an oncologist they say committed "gross and repeated acts of negligence" that led to an outbreak of hepatitis B among his patients.

Medicine & Health / Other

created Sep 15, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Malaria vaccine shows promise: study

An experimental malaria vaccine tested on children in Burkina Faso has shown "a high level of efficacy" in protecting against the disease, a study published in the United States said Wednesday.

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Sep 14, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Changes to distribution of livers for transplant proposed

Transplantation specialists have proposed changes to the allocation and distribution of organs used for liver transplants. The recommended policy modifications take into account the scarcity of available organs, ensuring ...

Medicine & Health / Other

created Sep 09, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a disease caused by HBV hepatitis B virus which infects the liver of hominoidae, including humans, and causes an inflammation called hepatitis. Originally known as "serum hepatitis", the disease has caused epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa, and it is endemic in China. About a third of the world's population, more than 2 billion people, have been infected with the hepatitis B virus. This includes 350 million chronic carriers of the virus. Transmission of hepatitis B virus results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood.

The acute illness causes liver inflammation, vomiting, jaundice and—rarely—death. Chronic hepatitis B may eventually cause liver cirrhosis and liver cancer—a fatal disease with very poor response to current chemotherapy. The infection is preventable by vaccination.

Hepatitis B virus is an hepadnavirus—hepa from hepatotrophic and dna because it is a DNA virus—and it has a circular genome composed of partially double-stranded DNA. The viruses replicate through an RNA intermediate form by reverse transcription, and in this respect they are similar to retroviruses. Although replication takes place in the liver, the virus spreads to the blood where virus-specific proteins and their corresponding antibodies are found in infected people. Blood tests for these proteins and antibodies are used to diagnose the infection.

For more information about Hepatitis B, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.