What Is Viral Hepatitis?
на канале: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Did you know that millions of Americans are living with viral hepatitis and don’t know they have it? Dr. Rodgers talks about the different types of viral hepatitis and how to find out if you are at risk.
You can find more information about hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E on our website here: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-info...
For ongoing hepatitis testing services, please visit https://gettested.cdc.gov
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Transcript:
DR. RODGERS: Did you know that millions of Americans are living with viral hepatitis and don’t know they have it? Hi, I’m Dr. Griffin Rodgers, Director of the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases at NIH.
Your liver has many important functions, including digesting your food and fighting infection. Viral hepatitis is an infection that causes liver inflammation and damage.
Researchers have discovered several types, including A, B, and C. Although many people don’t have symptoms, they may develop complications such as cirrhosis—which is scarring that permanently damages your liver—liver cancer, or liver failure.
The good news is we have vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and B; and medicines can now cure most cases of hepatitis C. You can find out if you are at risk with a 5-minute test on the CDC.gov website. Search “Hepatitis Risk Assessment.”
For more information, follow us on Twitter @NIDDKgov. This is Dr. Griffin Rodgers with the NIH.