1. Hepatitis By John

2. What is Hepatitis? Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis is also a group of infections that damages the liver. There are 3 types of hepatitis: –Hepatitis A –Hepatitis B –Hepatitis C

3. Main Causes of Hepatitis Viruses, bacteria, or parasites infections. Liver damage caused by alcoholic substances or poisonous substances. Overdosing medications.

4. Other Causes of Hepatitis Systemic lupus erythematosus. Rheumatoid arthritis. Sjögren syndrome. Scleroderma. Inflammatory bowel disease. Glomerulonephritis. Hemolytic anemia.

5. Risk Factors Drug use. Eating foods that are contaminated. Traveling to areas where hepatitis is common. Abusing alcohol. Receive a organ transplant. Receiving blood before 1990. Getting a tattoo. Having AIDS or HIV.

6. Symptoms Fever. Weight loss. Nausea. Excessive vomiting. Losing your appetite. Yellowing of skin and eyes. Severe itching. Being tired.

7. Tests Liver function tests. Liver biopsy test. Hepatitis virus serologies. Abdominal ultrasound tests. Autoimmune blood markers. Paracentesis tests.

8. Prevention Vaccines for type A and type B. Immunoglobulin shots. Don’t share razors, needles, or toothbrushes. Don’t eat uncooked or partially cooked foods when traveling to a endemic area. Don’t use recreational IV drugs. Avoid using eating utensils with someone that has hepatitis A. Wash hands before and after handling food.

9. Interesting Facts About 1.2 million people in the US have chronic hepatitis B. About 3.2 million people in the US have chronic hepatitis C. About 85000 people are infected with hepatitis each year.

10. Websites Used http://www.cdc.gov/HEPATITIS/ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article /001154.htm