National Liver Care Day: What you don’t know about liver disease

There are three vaccines in China that can prevent viral hepatitis, namely "Hepatitis A Vaccine", "Hepatitis B Vaccine" and "Hepatitis E Vaccine". Today, on National Liver Care Day (3.18), let me share some little-known facts:

【1】Hepatitis A can be transmitted through urine

We always say that hepatitis A virus is "transmitted through feces-oral transmission", but in fact the virus in people infected with hepatitis A (especially in the early stages) can also enter the urine through the kidneys.

Therefore, some special habits may make them more susceptible to hepatitis A virus infection.

【2】Hepatitis B is not always a chronic infection

Hepatitis B virus infection is not always a chronic infection that may eventually lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, etc. There are also acute infections . For example, only "less than 5%" of adults may develop chronic infection after exposure, while this proportion for infants is 90%.

However, this does not mean that adults can engage in blood-related and sexually exposed behaviors at will.

【3】Hepatitis E is not always an acute infection

Although HEV, like HAV, is generally an acute infection, it may develop into a chronic infection in certain populations, especially those with compromised immune systems, such as organ transplant recipients, HIV-infected individuals, or those receiving immunosuppressive therapy.

in the country, the number of hepatitis E cases exceeds 10,000, and we don’t know how many people are chronically infected.

【4】Both hepatitis A and hepatitis E are harmful to pregnant women and fetuses

Both viruses that generally cause acute hepatitis can affect pregnant women and fetuses. Hepatitis A virus may mainly cause premature birth or low birth weight of the fetus, while hepatitis E virus, in addition to causing the same symptoms as hepatitis A virus, may also cause pregnant women infected with the virus to be more likely to develop "severe illness" than healthy adults, accompanied by a higher risk of "death". Some studies report that the mortality rate can be as high as 20%-30%.

In short, you should be more serious about your diet during pregnancy.

【5】These people may have received the hepatitis A vaccine directly

Due to the changes in the prevalence of hepatitis A in China over the past few decades, the official recommendation is that all adults over 18 years old with no history of hepatitis A disease or hepatitis A vaccination can be vaccinated. Among them, adults aged 18 to 39 can be "directly" vaccinated; adults aged 40 and above can be tested for anti-HAVIgG before vaccination, and those with negative test results can be vaccinated. However, it is safe not to perform anti-HAVIgG screening before vaccination. Simple translation: Adults over 18 years old with no history of disease can get the hepatitis A vaccine directly .

【6】There is no uniform definition of weak positive hepatitis B

Generally in China, it is often said that hepatitis B antibody levels of 10-100 mIU/ml are "weakly positive", and even require revaccination; while overseas, there are also studies that define weakly positive as 1.5-10 mIU/ml, and there are also claims that levels above the lower limit of detection (between 0.1 IU/L and 1.0 IU/L) but below 10 IU/L are considered weakly positive. Anyway, levels above 10 mIU/ml (10 IU/L) are protective.

【7】There is only one supplier of hepatitis E worldwide

Hepatitis E virus is the leading cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide, infecting an estimated 20 million people each year, with 70,000 deaths. In China, 29,890 cases of hepatitis E and nine deaths were reported in 2023. Fortunately, China is the only country in the world that has a self-developed and self-produced hepatitis E vaccine . The latest research has found that China's domestically produced hepatitis E vaccine can provide at least 10 years of protection against hepatitis E.

【8】Hepatitis viruses can work together

For patients who already have hepatitis B or hepatitis C, infection with hepatitis A virus or hepatitis E virus may lead to a sharp deterioration of liver function and even acute liver failure, leading to an increased risk of death.

Therefore, if you are infected with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis E virus, you can consider getting the hepatitis A vaccine or hepatitis E vaccine.

【9】There are more than 5 types of hepatitis virus

In addition to hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, hepatitis D virus, and hepatitis E virus, there are also hepatitis F virus (HFV) and hepatitis G virus (HGV), in addition to non-A~E hepatitis viruses such as TT virus (TTV) and Senovirus (SENV). However, it seems that knowing this is useless.

willing

Disclaimer: This article was created out of personal interest, only to help more ordinary people have a clearer understanding of vaccines. The content and views do not represent any organization, unit, or institution, and it has not accepted any form of sponsorship. All pictures are from public online platforms. If the content is incorrect, please do more self-criticism (not).