Blood Test On Hepatitis B
One of the most contagious and most insidious of all the STDs, the hepatitis B virus can cause a debilitating liver disease that has no known cure or effective treatment. It is spread like the virus causes AIDS - through blood contact with body fluids that contain it - but is considered to be about 100 times as contagious because it may even be spread by contaminated acupuncture needles, dental equipment, and even manicuring tools, as well as by saliva exchanged in kissing. It is difficult to estimates the number of people who carry the infection because half of them may develop no symptoms. Of these, many remain contagious for a lifetime, spreading liver disease that makes its victims 200 times more likely to develop liver cancer than their non-infected counterparts. While there has been a decline in cases among homosexual men because of a change in there sexual habits, there has been a considerable increase among sexually active heterosexuals with many partners.
When an effective vaccine against the hepatitis B virus was licensed more than ten years ago, the Centers for Disease Control guidelines recommended that it be used only by people facing a particularly high risk of infections: health care and emergency workers likely to come in contact with other people's body fluids; people on kidney dialysis because they are frequently exposed to intravenous procedures; intravenous drug users; staff members of institutions whose inmates might bite their caregivers; and anyone with multiple sex partners or whose partners have multiple partners. In 1991, alarmed by the spread of the infection, the CDC recommended that all babies be vaccinated against hepatitis B in the same way they are routinely vaccinated against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. High risk adolescents have also been added to the list. Also recommended for immunization are people who live with the 1.2 million Americans chronically infected with the disease.
For women who think they are at risk for hepatitis B infections, three doses of the vaccine provide better than 95 percent protection. The same level of protection is also achieved if the vaccine is given promptly after known exposure to the virus. The procedure, including doctor's fees, can amount to several hundred dollars and is not usually covered by health insurance policies.
For women who think they are at risk for hepatitis B infections, three doses of the vaccine provide better than 95 percent protection. The same level of protection is also achieved if the vaccine is given promptly after known exposure to the virus. The procedure, including doctor's fees, can amount to several hundred dollars and is not usually covered by health insurance policies.
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