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Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

nature.com

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Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#41

Post by subcosmos »

mlindner wrote: post #35
HarryHirsch wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hep A is a waterborne disease. If you live somewhere with proper sanitation and don't have contact with sewage you are at low risk and the funds for the vaccine are better directed elsewhere.

San Francisco residents have extra contact with sewage than the normal person because the feces and urine that are everywhere.

Not sure why you were downvoted. This is absolutely correct and why the city is paying for street cleaning in the areas most affected, in line with the efforts of the City of San Diego in their downtown areas.

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#42

Post by subcosmos »

ed312 wrote: post #4
ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this is too off topic for here but I have always wondered why people are so angry at Anti-Vaxx people? Yes... the compromise our Herd Immunity, but don't they also serve as a "Canary in The Coal Mine", risking their own health so that the human genome can keep battling with and evolving natural defenses against disease?

I am not a doctor, but my understanding is there is a small bug significant number of people who cannot get certain vaccines due to e.g. immune system issues. "Herd Immunity" through a highly-immunized population generally protects these people because there are fewer reservoirs for a given disease. Edit: The reason people are mad at anti-vaxxers: their foolishness directly impacts the welfare of some already unfortu…

Am a PhD, and you are correct. These people are however in the minority, and its important to ensure that people don't use this fact as false justification for not getting vaccinated.

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#43

Post by norwish »

I'm a white, western male in my late 30's with a chronic Hep B infection, picked up as a child living in Africa. The only difference it's made in my life is having to have some awkward conversations with prospective intimate partners, having to get regular blood checks (every 6-12mths), and not being able to join the military.

The good news with Hep B is a) there is a very effective vaccine against it b) if you pick it up as an adult you have a good chance of getting rid of it. The bad news is there is no cure for chronic infections and the risk of liver disease is greatly increased. As the article mentioned, in recent years there have been breakthroughs in treatment of Hep C leading to a cure so I'm hopeful there will be a cure for Hep B in my lifetime.

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#44

Post by pseudolus »

UI_at_80x24 wrote: post #40
pseudolus wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hepatitis rates among First Nations, Metis and Inuit are apparently significantly higher than hepatitis rates among other Canadians.

That does sound plausible. Free health care? Sure! Drinkable water? Fuck no! The only good thing you can say about Canadas treatment of it's First Nations is that we haven't recently given them small-pox filled blankets.* *that has been caught on film and verified by 300 independent labs.

A not insignificant contributor to the higher levels of hepatitis is intravenous drug use. You could also depress yourself to no end if you reviewed the levels of suicide amongst indigenous Canadians. It's genuinely shocking.

https://www.suicideinfo.ca/resource/indigenous-suicide-preve...

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#45

Post by AJ007 »

peterwwillis wrote: post #37

Weird notes on HBV: - More contagious than HCV or HIV, apparently can even be spread via saliva. Potential infections can happen from uncleaned tattoo guns, razors used for shaves, unchanged soaking water/bowls and cuticle scissors at nail salons, unwashed hotel sheets/towels/robes, etc - 5-10% of immunized people don't develop enough antibodies to protect against infection - Remains contagious from 7 days to a month…

I guess we won’t be seeing any coin op electric shaving machines again. http://www.icollector.com/Pitchford-Coin-Operated-Electric-S...

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#46

Post by norwish »

peterwwillis wrote: post #37

Weird notes on HBV: - More contagious than HCV or HIV, apparently can even be spread via saliva. Potential infections can happen from uncleaned tattoo guns, razors used for shaves, unchanged soaking water/bowls and cuticle scissors at nail salons, unwashed hotel sheets/towels/robes, etc - 5-10% of immunized people don't develop enough antibodies to protect against infection - Remains contagious from 7 days to a month…

> can even be spread via saliva.

While possible, is extremely unlikely. For it to be spread by saliva a) the saliva of the infected person would have to contain blood (e.g. bleeding gums) b) come into contact with an open wound in the other person (also has a cut or cold sore etc)

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#47

Post by Ensorceled »

jandrese wrote: post #22

What happened in Canada? You see charts like this with sub-Saharan Africa and Mongolia are lit up and that's no surprise, but then Canada shows up and you wonder what happened. They scored worse than the US at a healthcare metric! They scored worse than Mexico . Is this one of those things where the Indigenous population has a real problem that is skewing the numbers for the entire country or did the government not b…

Perhaps related, right now there is a 6 month waiting list for the Hep B vaccine here in Canada.

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#48

Post by kingnothing »

subcosmos wrote: post #41
mlindner wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

San Francisco residents have extra contact with sewage than the normal person because the feces and urine that are everywhere.

Not sure why you were downvoted. This is absolutely correct and why the city is paying for street cleaning in the areas most affected, in line with the efforts of the City of San Diego in their downtown areas.

Are the street sweepers in SF effective at actually sanitizing the urine and feces or are they really aerating the excrement so any diseases contained within are more easily transmitted to passersby? I'm guessing the latter.

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#49

Post by danielvf »

cabaalis wrote: post #13
asdkhadsj wrote: post #2

Tangent: The headline brings up an interesting thought.. I wonder what anti-vaxx people will do when a new scary virus emerges. Something actively and aggressively flying through the population. So much of the anti-vaxx mindset is supported by herd immunity. But when a scenario finally happens where herd immunity is compromised.. It'll be interesting to see how the vaccination discussion plays out. edit : The downvot…

I'm involved in a study of vaccinations. One good thing I'm seeing is that many peds clinics, if you are a pure, down the line anti-vaxxer, will politely ask you to choose another provider.

I agree that pediatric practices refusing service to no-vaxers is the norm in the US.

I've have a few friends who range between full on anti-vax vs being skeptical of one or two, and I’ve heard a few stories.

It seems that a parent asking for their child to not receive one or two of the 20-50 vaccines the pediatrician gives by default has about a 50% chance of being kicked out of the practice. As you said, asking for no vaccines is about a 99% chance.

However, pediatricians have a racket where they will not accept a new child (unless they moved to the area) unless they saw the child within a week of its birth. Thus, when you get kicked out, you are out. You can't see a pediatrician anymore unless you drive 80 miles to sketchy 90's new-age pediatrician in a dingy strip mall, and you can't get any more vaccines unless you go on the correct afternoon of the second week of the month to a government clinic in the part of town with litter and shootings.

This has pushed several people I know into not getting further vaccinations when they were getting 95%.

Maybe it's just our area, and the whole US isn't doesn’t have pediatric practices like this...

Re: Viral hepatitis: A silent epidemic killing more people than HIV, malaria or TB

#50

Post by norwish »

pseudolus wrote: post #34
UI_at_80x24 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know _what_ is going on but I have a guess. I live in Canada. We see these 'Hepatitis vaccine' posters at every doctors office/clinc. They are all related to "going on vacation somewhere warm". So the implication is "Caribbean vacation = hepatitis". There were even TV commercials that tried to show "unexpected places you could get hepatitis from", from the ice-cube, from the sand on the beach (showing a cut f…

Hepatitis rates among First Nations, Metis and Inuit are apparently significantly higher than hepatitis rates among other Canadians.

It's the same with the Australian Aborigines, but then virtually every other kind of disease is also much higher amongst that group - especially those living in remote communities. As the article says, Hep B is largely "a disease of the poor".
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