Summary
- Australia aims to eliminate hepatitis B and C by 2030.
- Vaccination is key to preventing hepatitis A and B infections.
- Early hepatitis symptoms include fatigue, jaundice, and abdominal pain.
Cape York, Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area residents are being reminded to keep their liver health in mind.
The timely health advice comes as Australia prepares to mark World Hepatitis Day on 28 July. This year’s theme is “Your Liver, Your Life – Defeat Hepatitis’’.
Nationally, Australia has committed to eliminating hepatitis B and hepatitis C by 2030.
Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Public Health Medical Officer Dr Helen Pedgrift said hepatitis was a virus that could cause significant damage to the liver.
“The liver is one of the most important organs in the body,” Dr Pedgrift said.
If the liver stops working you cannot survive, so it’s important to keep it healthy.’’
So far this year, the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service region has recorded three cases of hepatitis B and three cases of hepatitis C.
Dr Pedgrift said the three most common types of hepatitis in the region were:
- Hepatitis A: A liver infection caused by contaminated food/water or close physical contact. Preventable via safe and effective vaccination that is administered in two doses spaced 6 to 12 months apart.
- Hepatitis B: Transmitted via blood or bodily fluids. Often addressed with awareness programs targeting cultural and community strengths. Also preventable by immunisation as part of the National Immunisation Register and available for eligible people aged under 20 years as a catch-up vaccination.
- Hepatitis C: A blood-borne virus generally caused by sharing needles and injection equipment: This is the most common cause of new infections today. Reusing or inadequately sterilizing equipment for tattoos, piercings, or medical/dental procedures also can result in infection. The good news is Hep C can be treated with direct-acting antiviral cures in the form of pills.
Dr Pedgrift said immunisation was the best protection against hepatitis B.
She said in addition to the childhood immunisations under the National Immunisation Register, Queensland Health also funded a free hepatitis B vaccination for the following groups:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- household or other close (household-like) contacts of people living with hepatitis B
- sexual contacts of people living with hepatitis B
- migrants from hepatitis B endemic countries
- people with chronic liver disease and/or hepatitis C
- people who inject drugs
- people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
“Unfortunately, there is no cure for hepatitis B once you contract it,’’ Dr Pedgrift said.
“Most children and up to half of the adults with hepatitis B have no symptoms at the time they are first infected.
“They do not get sick, and they do not develop the yellow colour (jaundice) associated with liver disease.
“The only way to know if you have hepatitis B, or any other form of hepatitis, is through a blood test.
“If the hepatitis B virus has been in the body for a long time, it is called chronic hepatitis B.’’
Dr Pedgrift said most people in the Torres Strait, Cape York and Northern Peninsula Area who had chronic hepatitis B caught it as babies or children.
“If you get hepatitis B as a baby or child, most people will have it for life,’’ she said. “For this reason, hepatitis screening is a routine part of care in pregnancy.
“If diagnosed with hepatitis during a pregnancy, there is treatment that can help prevent transmission to newborn babies.”
Early signs of hepatitis infection include pain in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, weakness and tiredness, loss of appetite, general aches and pains and fever.
This may be followed by jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes), dark urine and pale-coloured faeces (stools).
Always see your doctor or local primary health care centre if you have concerns, or symptoms.
For more details about viral infections and hepatitis strains, visit Viral infections on the Queensland Government website.