Lecture 14 (8B) - Chronic Viral Hepatitis Flashcards
Hepatitis B
300 million
sex
drug injection
50% of UK drug users
Hepatitis c
220 million
drugs - blood to blood
50% of drug users
40% in cairo from british injecting everyone in attempt to eradicate bilharzia
HBV replication
3 kilobases (when average gene 4-5 kilobases)
• 4 proteins
• DNA virus - can integrate into own chromosomes, use our body enzymes to replicate
• makes pieces of RNA to make DNA again
= REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE STEP
HepB prevalence
- highest - africa, E and SE asia, N canada and greenlad
- intermediate - russia, india, medierranea, brazil, japan
- low - UK, w Europe, USA, australia, new zealand, scandanavia
HCV
- RNA virus so makes mistakes (1 mutation per 10,000 bases)
- is 10,000 bases long –> 1 mutation every new strand
- so many changes that T and B cells can’t get it because it’s changed by the time they’re made
Symptoms
liver fibrosis –> cirrhosis
ascites - fluid filled abdomen that can burst
multi-focal HCC - liver carcinoma
HBV has 2 forms
- acute - fightable
- chronic - worrying one
HepB makes you live long enough to pass it on (mom to kid)
Individuals most at risk of developing chronic hepatitis B infection
• neonatal vertical transmission • infants less than 3 years old • immunocompromised individuals - receiving chemotherapy - haemodialysis patiens - transplant recipients
Outcome of HBV infection according to age at time of infection
chronic from mom, change during puberty
• HepB smart enough to cause pandemic
• 11 years to form adult response to it
Hepatitis B natural history
- mother tolerizes, so no liver inflammation because no cells against
- teenage = switches on immune, antigens
alanine transaminase - enzyme commonly assocciated with liver - measures liver health
- immunotolerant phase
- HBsAg+
- HBeAg+ - Immunoactive phase
- HBsAg +
- HBeAg+ - Immunosurveillance phase
- HBsAg+
- HBeAg- - Immunoescape phase
- HBsAg+
- HBsAg-
HBV therapy
either:
• lamivudine + tenofovir - indefinite therapy of tablets
• pegasys - pegylate interferon - 48 weeks of injections
constant battle between immunology and hepatitis B
• low liver inflammation = no T cells from hep B
• passed from mother
• first 20 years of life - 100million per ml of blood
- phase 1
• virus changes in teen year - immune system starts trying to kill it - causes body damage
• disease reactivation in 50s
- phases 2 and 4
Hepatitis C
- transmitted by blood-blood contact
- causes slowly progressive liver fibrosis
- cirrhosis and cancer are common
- in the UK drug users are at greatest risk
- junkies virus
- not just a problem in drug users
- common in immigrant communities
- therapy is very effective
- prominent in 3rd world from poor medical practice
- viral disease - transient, self limiting
Chronic viral hepatitis
- HBV infects 400 million people worldwide
* HCV infects 180 million people worldwide
Viral defences
- INNATE IMMUNITY - type 1 interferons
- antibody response (slow)
- cytotoxic T cells (slow)