Hepatitis B (HBV) is a double-stranded DNA virus, originally called the Dane particle. The disease it caused had various names, including serum hepatitis, homologous serum jaundice, and long incubation period hepatitis.
The hepatitis B antibody (also known as the B surface antigen and the hepatitis B surface antigen) is known to cover most of the B subtypes as well.
There are other important antigens associated with the Hepatitis B virus. For instance, the HBcAg is associated with the core of the virus, and the HBeAg is a marker of chronic infection. If this antigen is detected in blood samples, the patient is very likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver.
Since HBV does not grow in tissue cultures and infects only humans, it has been difficult to study. It is known to be extremely infectious, remaining on surfaces for a month at room temperature. Almost always, an infant who is breastfed by an infected mother will have acquired the virus within the first six months of life.
Whereas, the Hepatitis A virus is virtually eliminated from the body by the time jaundice appears, but not so with the B strain. This virus can persist in body fluids for years or a lifetime.
There are more than 450 million carriers of HBV worldwide. These people are not only a risk to others, but also to themselves in the form of the potential chronic form of the disease which leads to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma – HCC ).
Carriers are 340 times more likely to develop liver cancer than other people. Of all liver cancer cases, 80% have been found to be carriers of the hepatitis B virus. Every year in the US alone, there are a reported 200,000 new cases of HBV, with over 11,000 sick enough to require hospitalization, leaving 20,000 chronically infected and 5,000 dying from liver disease and liver cancer.
HBV symptoms and treatment are very similar to those of HAV, but with some notable exceptions. HBV produces an active, aggressively inflammatory process that results in severe scarring of the liver (cirrhosis).
Another difference is that symptoms of HBV do not occur until six weeks to six months after initial contact, with the severity lasting longer and being more intense than HAV. HBV can also produce a chronic state about 10% of the time. Chronic HBV infection can sometimes display normal liver blood tests, causing patients to think that they are cured and thus, unwittingly, spreading the disease to others.
The first recorded case of HBV was that of German shipyard workers in 1883 who had been vaccinated for smallpox. At that time, needles were reused as many as sixty times during vaccination campaigns. For many years thereafter, the disease followed those who participated in the vaccination campaigns.
The hepatitis B virus has three modes of transmission, which are known as parenteral, horizontal, and vertical.
- Parenteral transmission includes: via blood and serum products involved in transfusions and organ transplants, sharing needles razors or through body piercing, tattooing, acupuncture, renal dialysis, etc., and sexual intercourse.
- Horizontal transmission occurs in families and other conditions requiring close living quarters where people often share utensils, as in day care centers, nursing homes, or institutions.
- Vertical transmission involves perinatal transmission from a carrier mother to her baby via the placenta or during delivery. Staff handling body fluids of the infected mother can also be at risk.
The origin of this virus has raised speculation among various levels of society. One such is from Leonard Horowitz in Emerging Viruse. He traced some deadly viruses that could not have jumped species as claimed, but had to have come from American laboratories that sold tainted blood serum.
In addition, the hepatitis B vaccine seemed to have acquired an unknown contaminent during its development. To some, this may seem to be a deliberate act; but, to many who know the basic nature of most scientists, it is quite probable that it stemmed from a disastrous error. Since scientists are paranoid about their work and are more than a little reluctant to admit errors, we will never know for sure.
The preferred method of treatment for HBV is with a drug called Interferon, requiring daily to tri-weekly injections over a period of several months. This very expensive treatment is used only after a biopsy confirming the diagnosis. Studies are still being conducted on a new drug, Lamivudine, but alone, it is not proving to be the wonder drug hoped for, but in combination with interferon, it is fairing much better – according to claims.
As with all drugs, however, there are serious side effects. What brings relief to one ailment, often creates others. It should also be noted that even with aggressive drug therapy, 70% of the cases show no signs of improvement. Drugs are not only expensive, but they also add to the burden of an already overtaxed liver that is responsible for most of the detoxification in the body. Time, rest, and a healthy chemically-free diet go a long way in relieving symptoms and preventing disease in the first place. There are many alternatives that can help alleviate hepatitis infections or prevent them altogether.
There are four brands of Interferon available in the United States. This therapy is prescribed by liver specialists and requires careful patient education and monitoring to be administered safely. About 50% of the patients treated with one frequently used form responded with normal or near-normalization of liver blood tests within six months. Unfortunately, most relapsed within two years after completion of the therapy, and many required further long term low-dose treatment, or other options. The long term, virus-free success rate with interferon is well under 10%, making this route hardly worth the expense.
Hepatitis B vaccines have been available since 1982 and come in two forms – a recombinant DNA vaccine and a plasma-derived vaccine. The vaccine made from the plasma of those with chronic HBV infection is no longer produced in the US. The other form is produced through recombinant DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) technology. By adding common baker’s yeast from which the gene for HbsAg has been inserted, it produces inactive (non-infectious) subunits of the virus. In May of 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed a combined hepatitis A and B vaccine for use in individuals eighteen years of age and older.
The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all newborn infants, but the injections have caused some serious side effects, including chronic fatigue syndrome, seizures, such autoimmune diseases as arthritis and lupus, plus neurological dysfunctions. These are so-called adult diseases that are occurring in infants!
In addition, numerous deaths were reported as a direct result of the vaccine. Because the immune system of a newborn is still very immature, vaccinations can be a devastating onslaught. The reason for administering HBV vaccinations to newborns has to do with compliance. The babies are handy and the new parents are eager to do everything right for their infants, so vaccinations are given before they leave the control of the hospital environment.
Despite the US Public Health asking manufacturers to eliminate mercury from vaccines as it may be responsible for many of the side effects, it is still listed as one of the ingredients in the new Hep A and B combination vaccine of Twinrix®. Thimerosal is a form of mercury used as a preservative in many vaccines. (See more on Vaccines in Nature’s Pharmacy: Evidence-based Alternatives to Drugs)
