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Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Screening for Infectious Diseases Among Substance Abusers. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 1993. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 6.)
This publication is provided for historical reference only and the information may be out of date.
Screening for Infectious Diseases Among Substance Abusers.
Show detailsMost cases of viral hepatitis in humans are caused by four viruses. These include hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, hepatitis A virus, and hepatitis D virus, or delta-hepatitis. There are, however, distinct differences in these viral agents in terms of their epidemiologic, immunologic, and clinical characteristics. For drug users, hepatitis viruses B and C are the agents of major concern. This is because the major risk of infection is by bloodborne transmission, especially via shared needles, syringes, and other drug paraphernalia. There is also a risk of developing chronic hepatitis, and even - over time - the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer).
Drug treatment programs should routinely screen for hepatitis B. Hepatitis C should be tested for in all persons known to have used injection drugs. Liver enzymes should also be measured. Additional testing needs to be done as follows:
- Serologic testing for hepatitis A should be done only in persons with acute hepatitis.
- Serologic testing for hepatitis D virus should be done only in persons with known hepatitis B virus infection who have chronic hepatitis and are hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive, since the presence of serologic evidence of infection with hepatitis D does not alter the clinical followup or therapeutic intervention from that of a patient with chronic HBV infection.
- Chapter 11 - Introduction to Viral Hepatitis - Screening for Infectious Diseases...Chapter 11 - Introduction to Viral Hepatitis - Screening for Infectious Diseases Among Substance Abusers
- FEM32971 (0)Protein
- Epg5 [Ictidomys tridecemlineatus]Epg5 [Ictidomys tridecemlineatus]Gene ID:101965048Gene
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