Hepatitis B: symptoms and treatment Essay

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that can be passed though liquid, such as sharing needles, blood, and having sexual activity with someone who has Hepatitis B already (Mayo Clinic 1-2). It cannot be treated after a human already has the infection. Hepatitis B was found by looking into a microscope at blood samples from people all around the world. Hepatitis B is not a curable infection in order to protect from getting Hepatitis B the vaccine should already be given at birth (Ann Rae Jonas 1). Symptoms of Hepatitis B are very often related to the flu. Such as loss of appetite, being tired stomach pain, muscle and joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice (yellowing of skin or eyes) ( ASPH 1).
The Hepatitis B vaccine was developed in 1981 for human use. This one specific vaccine can protect from liver cancer and or liver disease and can also prevent death in some cases. When a baby is born, within the first year there are three shots that can be given to the baby. The first shot is when the baby is first born. The second shot is when the baby is 1 to 2 months old. The third shot is when the baby is 6 months old. It is not mandatory for a child to have the vaccine, but the vaccine is recommended.
Baruch Blumberg and Irving Millman were the two people who discovered the vaccine. Blumberg to one sample from what he thought was a healthy "Australian Aborigine" cause so the antibodies could form blood in a hemophilia patient in New York. In Africa, Asia, and Micronesia it is more common then in the United States to have infected blood because the water in those countries is not clean and has worms (Ann Rae Jonas 1-2). In 1969 the hepatitis B vaccine was invented. They way the vaccine works is by yeast cells would multiply to fight the infection. The cells that were multiplied were used to create the vaccine. The blood was submitted to a sequence of chemicals and different treatments that inactivated any possible contaminated viruses. There are no risks of contamination of the vaccine with other viruses because surface protein is man-made in the laboratory.
If a baby is allergic to yeast then the baby may experience some allergic reactions to the vaccine if given. The side effects can be little to none or can be very mild depending on how late you see the doctor. Some people may thing that it is just the flu because the side effects are what kind of side effects someone would have if they had the flu. The symptoms vary between vomiting and along with that someone can have stomach pains or body aches. Headaches are another big symptom and with headaches someone can become dizzy, tired, become drowsiness, and or have no energy. The worst symptom is blisters, they can appear also bleeding and lumps around where the shot was given creating a painful area. (