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It is primarily transmitted from patients to healthcare workers through exposure to infected blood by mistakes in procedures involving sharp instruments and needles. For this reason, healthcare workers are routinely vaccinated against blood-borne
Hepatitis (Taylor, 2005).
It is also possible to acquire HBV infection through sexual intercourse and especially through injection of intravenous drugs because IV drug users often share needles. While there is no cure for HBV infection, diagnosis is crucial because antiviral agents are capable of managing its symptoms and minimizing its damaging effect on the liver compared to untreated HBV infection (CDC, 2006).
Hepatitis C:
Hepatitis C is very similar to Hepatitis B, except that it is caused by a different virus, HCV. While it is possible to transmit HVC infection through sexual activity, it is much more often transmitted by blood-to-blood contact in medical settings where universal blood precautions are violated. The most common specific mode of HVC transmission is through IV drug use, but recipients of blood products such as plasma are also at an increased risk, as are long-term dialysis patients.
Essentially, any procedure that involves blood work carries the potential for HCV infection, because the virus may live for extended periods of time, even outside the body, on surfaces and in medical...
For this reason, tattoo parlors and body piercing equipment have also been linked to HCV transmission. Hepatitis C is incurable, but like Hepatitis B, its symptoms are manageable through specific antiviral agents and the vaccine is highly recommended for healthcare workers and for those who must regularly undergo blood transfusions (Taylor).
Hepatitis D and Hepatitis E:
Hepatitis D is not a separate disease, but requires co-infection by Hepatitis B to exist (Bantam, 2003). It is transmitted exclusively through intimate sexual contact with an infected person, but also appears as a "superinfection" in those already infected with HBV (CDC, 2006).
Hepatitis E is not found in the United States. Its mode of transmission is identical to that of Hepatitis a, which is the main reason it is more prevalent in underdeveloped countries with improper sanitation, sewage waste, and water treatment facilities.
References
The Bantam Medical Dictionary. (2003) New York: Bantam
U.S.D.H.H.S. (2006) Centers for Disease Control: Viral Hepatitis.
Accessed October 14, 2007, at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/
Taylor, C., Lillis, C., Lemone, P. (2005) Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care. New York: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
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