 HEPATITIS B Hepatitis B virus causes hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver. It is spread by contact with infected blood or body fluids ... sperm, vaginal secretions, pus, even tears or saliva! Clearly it is not necessary to have sexual intercourse to contract this disease ... kissing an infected person could do it. Hepatitis B is the most common chronic infectious disease in the world! The liver helps clean the blood and metabolize different substances we eat. When the liver isn't working properly, poisons build up in the blood. The liver also makes bile, and if this isn't released correctly into the body it can build up, causing a yellowing of the skin (jaundice) and eyes. When infected with hepatitis B, a person may at first get flu-like symptoms ... aches, fever, chills, nausea, and vomiting. (many people will not realize they have the disease). Most people will recover from the disease at this point, without complications, and become immune to getting the disease again. But in 10% of the population the disease will seem to disappear ... but really just remain hidden, and it may stay in the body long-term, perhaps eventually causing liver failure (cirrhosis) and liver cancers, which can lead to death. Hepatitis B can be detected by a simple blood test. Unfortunately there is no cure for the disease as yet. You can however be immunized against the disease by getting a vaccination. HEPATITIS C Hepatitis C virus also causes hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver. It is mostly spread by contact with infected blood, and only much less commonly by body fluids.The largest risks are for people who have used IV drugs (by sharing needles), who have received a blood transfusion prior to 1991, and who have been tattooed. The disease can also be passed on by sharing razors or toothbrushes with an infected person. Sexual transmission of hepatitis C is very uncommon, although the risk is increased in those having multiple sexual partners and unprotected sex. As with hepatitis B, the first symptoms are flu-like. Then the disease seems to disappear, sometimes for as long as twenty years! If untreated, the person may eventually experience total liver failure (cirrhosis) and liver cancer, both of which can lead to death. Hepatitis C can also be detected by a simple blood test. Because people infected usually have no symptoms, once the flu-like illness passes, most people will not realize they have the disease. It is important to get a blood test regularly if you have any risk factors for this infection. Hepatitis C is treated using direct-acting antiviral (DAA) tablets. DAA tablets are the safest and most effective medicines for treating hepatitis C. They're highly effective at clearing the infection in more than 90% of people. GONORRHEA | GENITAL WARTS | LICE & CRABS | SCABIES | HEPATITIS | HIV/AIDS |