Medicus, Vol. 12 No. 2_Spolne bolesti, 2003.
Review article
Viral Hepatitis as Sexually Transmitted Disease
Adriana Vince
Abstract
Viral hepatitides are frequent diseases of
modern mankind, both in developed and undeveloped countries,
of course, with different representation of particular
types of hepatitis and transfer modes. Current medicine classifies
viral hepatitides in A-E nomenclature, i.e. viruses which
can undoubtedly be etiologically defined by serum markers,
and those which have all clinical and laboratory features of
viral hepatitides, but until now without the possibility of proving
the cause, so they are put in the group of “nonA - nonE
hepatitis”. In the pathogenesis of viral hepatitis, two
moments are crucial: the mode of transfer (fecal-oral or parenteral),
and the basic mechanism of hepatocyte damage.
Although all hepatitis viruses propagate within hepatocytes,
it is still not firmly clear which is the basic cause of necrosis
in liver cells, whether immediate cytotoxicity or hepatoaggressive
immune response mediated particularly by specific
cytotoxic CD8 lymphocytes. Sexual transmission (permucous)
has an important role in hepatitis B, somewhat less in
hepatitis C. Because of that, in this article are cited essential
epidemiological, pathogenic and clinical characteristics
of hepatitides B and C, which still present great public health
problem, both worldwide and in Croatia.
Keywords
viral hepatitis; sexually transmitted disease; Treatment
Hrčak ID:
20578
URI
Publication date:
7.10.2003.
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