Western Medical Understanding Of Hepatitis A

Hep-A is the most common cause of acute viral hepatitis and is particularly common in children and young adults.  Acute viral hepatitis is diffuse liver inflammation caused by specific hepatotropic viruses that have diverse modes of transmission and epidemiologies.  Early symptoms include fever, nausea, and upper right quadrant pain.  Jaundice may also develop, depending on the severity of the infection.  Most cases resolve spontaneously.

Hep-A spreads through oral-fecal contact. Good hygiene can prevent acute viral hepatitis.  There can be epidemics in under-developed countries due to transmission via food and water.

Fecal shedding of the virus occurs before symptoms develop and usually ceases a few days after symptoms begin; thus, infectivity often has already ceased when hepatitis becomes clinically evident.  Hep-A has no known carrier state and does not produce chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis.

(Merck)

 

Hep-A is an acute liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), lasting from a few weeks to several months. It does not lead to chronic infection. (http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/index.htm)

 

Hepatitis A Vaccine

Hepatitis A vaccination is recommended for all children starting at age 1 year, travelers to certain countries, and others at risk. (http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/index.htm)

 

Vaccine side effects include:

-local soreness  (1 out of 2 adults and 1 out of 6 children)

-headache  (1 out of 6 adults and 1 out of 25 children)

-loss of appetite  (1 out of 12 children)

-tiredness  (1 out of 14 adults)

(www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm#hepA)

 

Additives include:

-formalin (formaldehyde, water, methanol)

-aluminum hydroxide

-2-phenoxyethanol

-human diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue

-polysorbate-20

(www.informedchoice.info/cocktail.html)

 

In 2006, 3,579 acute clinical cases were reported to CDC's surveillance system. Approximately 15,000 acute clinical cases and 32,000 new infections were estimated to have occurred.

(http://www.immunize.org/askexperts/experts_hepa.asp)

 

The prevalence of Hep-A in the United States is very low, probably due to uncontaminated water supply and food sanitation regulations  Therefore, children who are not traveling to underdeveloped countries do not need to be vaccinated.

 

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Western Medical Understanding Of Hepatitis B

Acute viral hepatitis is diffuse liver inflammation caused by specific hepatotropic viruses that have diverse modes of transmission and epidemiologies.  Early symptoms include fever, nausea, and upper right quadrant pain.  Jaundice may also develop, depending on the severity of the infection.  Most cases resolve spontaneously.  Hepatitis B is the most complex hepatitis virus (Merck).

 

In 2006, 4,758 cases of acute hepatitis B in the United States were reported to CDC; the overall incidence of reported acute hepatitis B was 1.6 per 100,000 population, the lowest ever recorded. However, because many HBV infections are either asymptomatic or never reported, the actual number of new infections is estimated to be much higher. In 2006, an estimated 46,000 persons in the United States were newly infected with HBV. Rates are highest among adults, particularly males aged 25–44 years.  An estimated 800,000–1.4 million persons in the United States have chronic HBV infection. Chronic infection is an even greater problem globally, affecting approximately 350 million persons. An estimated 620,000 persons worldwide die from HBV-related liver disease each year. (CDC.gov).

 

Information On Hepatitis B Vaccine

Researchers now know that, when given to newborns, the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine often doesn't even last five years.  Only 41% had partial protection up to age eight.  Other studies of the vaccine have found even lower levels of protection.  For example, one study examined children at age 12 and found that none had protective antibodies.  Another study found that only 7% of children had protective antibodies by the age of five.  In addition, a study done in Hawaii showed only 19% of children vaccinated at birth has detectable antibodies against Hepatitis B by the age of six.  Due to the relatively short-lived immunity offered by the vaccine, officials and recommending the Hep B vaccine every two years after the age of five.  Official reports, therefore, confirm that the effective duration of the vaccine is greatly reduced after only two years.  If this vaccine schedule were adhered to, the child would receive seven boosters of Hepatitis B vaccine before the age of 18, the age of increased risk.

 

Risk Factors for Hepatitis B Contraction

Viral hepatitis, due to Hep-B is not a devastating disease in most people.  Ninety-five percent of those exposed to the Hepatitis B virus experience little more than a few days or weeks of low-grade fever, mild fatigue, temporary loss of appetite, dark urine, and jaundice--after which point that fully recover and have life-long immunity to the virus.  Risk factors for newborns and young children are particularly low in the United States.  In fact, because the disease is transmitted via secretions like blood, saliva, semen, and vaginal fluid, the only ones at risk are those born to mothers who are positive for the virus.  Indeed, only 20% of those children born to mothers infected with Hep-B actually contract the disease.  The United States is considered to be one of the lowest risk countries for Hepatitis B infection.  Chronic active viral Hepatitis is a rare reaction to infection, occurring in only 2% of all cases.  Every article written about Hepatitis B makes it clear that people who are at the highest risk for disease contraction are those engaged in high risk behaviors--not young children and newborns.

 

Vaccine Dangers

According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, a well-known neurosurgeon, the Hepatitis B vaccine "has one of the highest complication rates and is strongly connected with the crippling macrophagic myofasciitis syndrome (Blaylock Wellness Report--Vol. 5, No. 4)."  Complications associated with the vaccine include arthritis, spinal cord lesions, lupus, low platelet count in the blood, seizures, and Bell's Palsy.  The vaccine also carries a sixty percent increased risk of insulin-dependent diabetes.  One study found a 300% increase in the risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis within three years of receiving the vaccine.  According to the government's own reports, 52% of adverse reactions to the vaccine that occurred in children under fourteen years of age were serious. 

 

A good deal of research suggests that the safety of the Hepatitis B vaccine has been overstated by the CDC and vaccine manufacturers.  Between 1992 and 2005, 36,788 adverse reactions were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (more than half classified as 'serious') (thinktwice.com). In fact, there are at least sixteen articles in the peer reviewed medical literature about the occurrence of autoimmune diseases following Hepatitis B vaccination.  Dr. Burton A. Waisbren, in testimony given before the U.S. House of Representatives, stated, "Study of the medical literature, of the patients, and of a great number of the reports sent to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has convinced me that a serious, perhaps unique problem, exists in regard to the toxicity of the hepatitis B vaccine...There are thousands, yes thousands, of reports by health professionals to the VAERS that adverse events have occurred after hepatitis B vaccination (waisbrenclinic.com)."

 

Several studies conducted in New Zealand (1996-1999) suggest a possible link between the Hepatitis B vaccine and diabetes.  In testimony given before the U.S. House of Representatives, Dr. J. Barthelow Classen stated, "Our research has focused on the effect of vaccines on insulin dependent diabetes (diabetes) , an autoimmune disease...we found that the incidence of diabetes rose 60% in New Zealand following a massive hepatitis B immunization program...the CDC initiated a study to verify our findings. Their preliminary data has been published and shows hepatitis B immunization when given starting after 8 weeks of age is associated with a 90% increase in the risk of diabetes (whale.to)."  This research is particularly intriguing, since it suggest that the timing of the vaccine may be a crucial factor in some of these reactions.

 

In early 2000, Italian researchers conducted a study that looked at vaccination timing.  The data suggests that timing of the vaccine may, in fact, increase the risk of side-effects.   As part of the study, investigators compared 150,000 children who had been vaccinated at age 3 months to an equal number of unvaccinated children. To assess the risk of developing type 1 diabetes in children who got the vaccine later,  400,000 children who were vaccinated at age 12 were compared with children who had not been vaccinated.  According to their research, "In the group as a whole, the rates of type 1 diabetes were 46 per 100,000 for children who had been vaccinated and 34 per 100,000 for children who had not. For those vaccinated at age 12, the rates were 17.8 per 100,000 for vaccinated children and 6.9 per 100,000 for unvaccinated children (webmd.com)."  Although these numbers are statistically small, they do suggest a possible trend: children who received the hepatitis B vaccine at age 12 were more than 2.5 times as likely to be diagnosed with type I diabetes than their unvaccinated peers.  Overall, the study suggested that, "any child who received the hepatitis B vaccine would be 34% more likely to develop diabetes than unvaccinated children (chiroweb.com)."

 

References:

Merck Manual

http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/HBVfaq.htm#overview

Blaylock Wellness Report (Fall 2008)

http://www.waisbrenclinic.com/artinfo.html

http://www.whale.to/v/classen.html

http://www.webmd.com/news/20000613/hepatitis-b-vaccine-linked-to-onset-of-diabetes

http://www.chiroweb.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=31783

http://www.thinktwice.com/hepB_sho.htm

Classen JB. Diabetes epidemic follows hepatitis B immunization program. New Zealand Medical Journal 1996;109:195.

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Western Medical Understanding Of Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C infection is most commonly transmitted through blood (primarily through needle sharing of IV drug users).  It may also be contracted through tattooing or body piercing.  Transmission through blood transfusion is less of a problem in modern times with the advent of screening tests on donated blood.  Sexual transmission or vertical transmission from infected mother to infant are rare.  Some sporadic cases occur in patients without apparent risk factors.  The prevalence of Hep-C varies with geographical location as well as other risk factors. (Merck)

HCV infection sometimes results in an acute illness, but most often becomes a chronic condition that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. (http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/index.htm)

 

Hep-C can occur simultaneously with specific systemic disorders such as:  essential mixed cryoglobulinemia, porphyria cutanea tarda, and glomerulonephritis.  The mechanisms are unclear. 

About 20% of patients with alcoholic liver disease harbor the Hep-C virus.  In these patients, Hep-C and alcohol act synergistically to exacerbate liver damage. Hep-C has the highest rate of chronicity (about 75%) of all the Hepatitis viruses.  The resultant chronic hepatitis may be asymptomatic but progresses to cirrhosis in 20-30% of patients.  This cirrhosis may take decades to appear. (Merck)

 

Hep-C is a serious infection which may ultimately require liver transplant.  Unfortunately, residual viruses frequently infect those with transplanted livers.  (Blaylock Wellness Report April 2008)

 

Vaccination For Hep-C

Currently, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The best way to prevent hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease, especially injection drug use.

(http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HepatitisC.htm)