2023-04-30 00:48:42
Designated and managed as a class 2 infectious disease in 2020
‘Caution’ such as undercooked meat products
A wide variety of viruses cause acute viral hepatitis, in which liver tissue becomes inflamed.
In particular, hepatitis E virus (HEV), which is occurring worldwide, is less known than other hepatitis viruses such as A, B, and C.
According to the World Health Organization, 20 million people are infected with the hepatitis E virus each year, 16.5% of which result in symptomatic acute hepatitis, resulting in 44,000 deaths in 2015.
In Korea, it was designated as a class 2 infectious disease in 2020, relatively late compared to other viruses, and started to be managed.
Hepatitis E patients were counted as 191 in 2020, 494 in 2021, and 528 in 2022, and in 2022, the number of patients started to increase from March when the weather was warmer and had the most patients in May.
Undercooked meat products, the main route of transmission of shellfish disease
It is spread by ingesting water or food contaminated with patient feces, or by direct consumption of undercooked bile or liver of animals contaminated with the virus, processed meat products such as jamon or salami, meat, shellfish, etc. Cross-contamination through vectors is the main route of transmission.
Rarely, it can also be spread through syringes, blood transfusions, and vertical transmission from pregnant women to the fetus. In particular, in Korea, there are many cases of eating raw meat food such as cow liver or raw meat and fish and shellfish raw, so there is a high risk of infection.
When the virus enters the internal bloodstream through the large intestine and small intestine, enters the liver, and proliferates in hepatocytes, it causes inflammation of the liver.
Infection without knowing, many asymptomatic… Beware of folk remedies that strain the liver
After an incubation period of 15 to 64 days, symptoms such as fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, jaundice, joint pain, fatigue, and loss of appetite appear. There are many asymptomatic infections with no symptoms at all, so you can be an unknowing source of infection.
In most patients, symptoms improve and are cured if sufficient rest and nutrition are taken along with symptomatic treatment.
However, depending on the type of hepatitis E virus, symptoms may become severe and cause sequelae or progress to chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis.
Acute liver failure, a severe disease requiring liver transplantation, may occur in regarding 1% of patients, so accurate diagnosis and management are necessary.
In addition, taking folk remedies or herbal medicines at will can strain the liver and worsen the condition, so you must consult with a specialist to take prescribed medications.
It is good to eat a regular meal with a diet that can refrain from alcohol, cigarettes, overeating, and excessive exercise that can give a bunch of liver health.
Daedong Hospital Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Center Director Lim Tae-won / Photo = Courtesy of Daedong Hospital
Daedong Hospital Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Center Director Lim Tae-won (digestive specialist) said, “Not many people know regarding the hepatitis E virus, but it is a disease that can be infected without knowing it through the food we eat. You need to thoroughly manage personal hygiene, such as cooking enough,” he advised, “not only viral hepatitis, but as the weather gets hotter, you need to be careful of digestive system diseases such as food poisoning caused by food intake.”
Since there is no vaccine for hepatitis E virus, it should be managed as a general prevention method. ▲Learn how to wash your hands correctly ▲Cook food ▲Boil water ▲Hygienic cooking environment ▲Do not cook if you have symptoms such as diarrhea.
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