Hepatitis is a virus caused disease that affects the liver cells. when infected with hepatitis, your liver may not be able to help your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisonous substances as it is supposed to. There are five types of hepatitis including hepatitis A, B, C, D and E virus. Each type varies from the other and so do the causes depending on the virus. Drug or alcohol use can also cause this disease, there are some cases where your body might attack healthy liver cells and result in Hepatitis.
Hepatitis B and C have been identified as the most lethal. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Hepatitis B and C are responsible for 95 percent of Hepatitis-related sicknesses and untimely deaths. Currently, the country is on high alert following the emergence of a new chronic form of Hepatitis affecting children. The alarm over the new form of Hepatitis was raised by the World Health Organization and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The clinical syndrome among identified cases is acute hepatitis which involves liver inflammation with markedly elevated liver enzymes. The global health body says cases that are being reported have shown gastrointestinal symptoms. These symptoms involve abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and vomiting.
infected children with severe acute hepatitis, and increased levels of liver enzymes. Most cases do not present with fever. In Additionally, according to a report by the CDC, many of the new cases have been shown to be driven by adenovirus infection. Adenoviruses are common and typically cause mild cold- or flu-like illnesses. They can cause illness in people of all ages at any time of year.
This is not the first time Kenya is dealing with hepatitis back in 2007 there was an outbreak of hepatitis B. in the past Kenya has mainly dealt with outbreak of outbreak of hepatitis A and B, hepatitis A can be prevented through vaccination. All that is required is vigilance as hepatitis B virus is spread through infected and contaminated blood and fluids.
