Adventure Doc
keeping you healthy for life's adventures
Erik McLaughlin MD, MPH
Affiliates
HEPATITIS
HEALTH KIT
Hepatitis is not normally thought of as a traveler’s disease. Hepatitis is technically an inflammation of the liver, from any cause. This can be from a virus, alcohol or poisoning. In this section, I will talk about viral hepatitis.
There are several types, Type A, Type B, Type C, Type D and Type E.
HEPATITIS
Type A is acquired from a fecal/oral route. This means that you have to eat or ingest something that has been contaminated with the feces of somebody with Hepatitis A. Hepatitis A goes away and is not considered a major threat. The disease is usually self-limiting (it goes away on its own). Type A viral hepatitis has symptoms of fever, abdominal pain and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes due to an accumulation of waster products in the body). It generally lasts 1-2 weeks, in a healthy adult. The disease increases in severity with age, meaning that children often have no symptoms and the older you get, the worse the infection. This disease is commonly acquired by eating food contaminated with infected water or swimming in sewage-contaminated areas of water. There is a vaccine for Hep.A and everybody should get it before the travel! The vaccine is good for life and is a two shot series, given one month apart.
PRODUCT REVIEWS
TYPE A
Hepatitis B is a major health concern. This is acquired from the exchange of bodily fluids such as blood, semen, and vaginal secretions and mucous. Sharing needles and unprotected sex are the major methods of transmission. I have included Hep.B in the travel section because some developing nations have a tendency to reuse needles in the hospitals. This is not good. Should you be involved in a car accident or other traumatic event, you will probably be taken to a hospital and given an IV for fluid. This IV could be reused from a prior patient with Hep.B. Hepatitis B can be a lifelong disease and significantly increases your risk for liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma). Hep.B causes cirrhosis (hardening of the liver), which decreases liver function. There is a vaccine for Hepatitis B. It is a standard immunization given to children in America. If you are unsure if you have received it or are older than 25 years old, you may not have gotten it. Ask you doctor to run a test to see if you have been immunized. It is a simple blood test called a “Hep.B Titer”. If you have not been immunized, get it done! It is a series of 3 shots, the first two are given one month apart and the third is given 6 months after the second. Get this done! Also, to make sure you don’t get reused needles in a developing nation hospital, bring you own with you. You can buy them commercially and they are not expensive. Carry them in your travel first aid kit and if you have to go to the hospital, bring them with you! Request that they be used!
TYPE B
Hepatitis C is another lifelong disease that can kill. There is no vaccine or immunization for this virus. People get Hep.C by having unprotected sex or sharing needles with those who are infected with Hep.C. Don’t do it! Again, like Hepatitis B, this is in the travel section because not all developing nation hospitals have sterile needles. Make sure to bring your own. Blood transfusions can also give Hep.C, especially if the blood is not properly tested. In America, Europe and Australia, the rate of getting Hep.C from a blood transfusion is 1,000,000 to one. In a developing nation that may not screen their blood so good, I don’t know. Minimize your risks buy wearing condoms, bringing your own IV needles and sterile equipment with you in your travel first aid kit and avoid a questionable blood transfusion, if at all possible.
TYPE C
Hepatitis D requires infection with Hepatitis B to be communicated. So, if you are vaccinated against Hep.B, you can’t get Hep.D. Get vaccinated or confirm that your Hep.B titer is good!
TYPE D
Hepatitis E is similar to Hepatitis A. There is no life long form. This is a fecal/oral disease, just like HepA. This is a problem for pregnant women and for some reason, it can kill them. For most healthy adults, the disease follows a course like Hepatitis A and resolves on its own (self-limiting) in about 1-2 weeks. Pregnant women who acquire this virus have a 50% mortality rate, if they get infected in their last trimester. Doctors are not sure why.
TYPE E
HEALTH KIT
