Community Chat

[Drythe]

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@Cakers3 wrote:

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@Drythe wrote:

I have had the vaccine for both Hep A and B because I work in health care, just teaching now, but once much more patient contact.  Both vaccines are a series of shots spaced out X amount of time apart.

There is no vaccine for Hep C.  We have been hearing about it a great deal recently because:

1) the CDC reported > 3,000 new cases last year,

2) the CDC estimates that there are at least 3.5 million people in the US who have active Hep C.

Hep C is not a likely result of “risky behavior”, but of exposure to blood and plasma and / or products used to treat other diseases.

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@Drythe  75% of Hep c patients are baby boomers.  Since blood was not tested and sterilization controls of equipment were not as strict as they are today-it stands to reason that Hep C is found among boomers the most.

You are right about exposure to blood etc.

However, sharing needles with person who have Hep C is a risk factor today and certainly risky behavior.

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@Cakers3

Thank you, for your information.  I was aware of those facts, as my field is Public Health.  However, information is always good to share.

I must not have been clear in my point.  Surely such factors as tattoos, unsafe sex, shared needle use, etc. are a major contributing factor.

 Baby Boomers are definitely driving the statistics, as a matter of fact, Medicare has included a Hep C test suggestion as part of the annual Medicare Exam.  Currently it is up to the MD if he calls for it, many are bashful for fear of offending patients, for just that "risky behavior" shame.  (???) But that may change, and become a requirement.

My point was that "risky behaviors" are not the ONLY factors.  It could, as you rightly said have come from blood or plasma infusions just as HIV did prior to the testing of those products.  

There is also increase of HEP A, B, and sometimes C in the use of "biologicals", such as IVIG (Gammaglobulin): where latent fragments of Hep can still be present in some products even though they have been 'sterilized'.  This latent Hep can cause a person to test positive for Hep  even though they don't actually have the disease.  This is sort of similar to people who have been exposed to TB who convert to "positive" for TB, but don't actually have the disease.

I'm sure this is more immunology and biology than anyone wanted, but I wanted to say - 'be kind, and let's not  jump to conclusions.'

Best wishes, I always enjoy your posts.

[Cakers3]

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@Drythe wrote:

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@Cakers3 wrote:

---

@Drythe wrote:

I have had the vaccine for both Hep A and B because I work in health care, just teaching now, but once much more patient contact.  Both vaccines are a series of shots spaced out X amount of time apart.

There is no vaccine for Hep C.  We have been hearing about it a great deal recently because:

1) the CDC reported > 3,000 new cases last year,

2) the CDC estimates that there are at least 3.5 million people in the US who have active Hep C.

Hep C is not a likely result of “risky behavior”, but of exposure to blood and plasma and / or products used to treat other diseases.

---

@Drythe  75% of Hep c patients are baby boomers.  Since blood was not tested and sterilization controls of equipment were not as strict as they are today-it stands to reason that Hep C is found among boomers the most.

You are right about exposure to blood etc.

However, sharing needles with person who have Hep C is a risk factor today and certainly risky behavior.

---

@Cakers3

Thank you, for your information.  I was aware of those facts, as my field is Public Health.  However, information is always good to share.

I must not have been clear in my point.  Surely such factors as tattoos, unsafe sex, shared needle use, etc. are a major contributing factor.

 Baby Boomers are definitely driving the statistics, as a matter of fact, Medicare has included a Hep C test suggestion as part of the annual Medicare Exam.  Currently it is up to the MD if he calls for it, many are bashful for fear of offending patients, for just that "risky behavior" shame.  (???) But that may change, and become a requirement.

My point was that "risky behaviors" are not the ONLY factors.  It could, as you rightly said have come from blood or plasma infusions just as HIV did prior to the testing of those products.  

There is also increase of HEP A, B, and sometimes C in the use of "biologicals", such as IVIG (Gammaglobulin): where latent fragments of Hep can still be present in some products even though they have been 'sterilized'.  This latent Hep can cause a person to test positive for Hep  even though they don't actually have the disease.  This is sort of similar to people who have been exposed to TB who convert to "positive" for TB, but don't actually have the disease.

I'm sure this is more immunology and biology than anyone wanted, but I wanted to say - 'be kind, and let's not  jump to conclusions.'

Best wishes, I always enjoy your posts.

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@Drythe  My PCP ordered it because we are boomers.  In fact, I had blood way back when and had concerns once the Hep C issue began to show up.  I would have asked if he hadn't ordered it. 

Thanks for your info, too.  I understand your posts; it's a good conversation and important.

I haven't heard about any Hep A or even B outbreaks in my area; so this thread really had me wondering about these vaccines.

[suzyQ3]

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

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@maestra wrote:

 both Hep A and Hep B. and Shingles; also Tetanus.

A Hardees restaurant in Charlotte, NC had a cook who had Hep. A and exposed thousands to this disease. Free vaccines are being offered to folks who dined at this restaurant between recent dates.

I took the vaccines a few years ago as a prophylactic measure.

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So how did he pass this on?  I thought we were told it could only be through fecal matter.  Did he not wash his hands - or is this more contagious than we were led to believe?

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@Isobel Archer, bingo. Or at least not adequately.

[suzyQ3]

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@FuzzyFace wrote:

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@cherry wrote:

My husband just got one,  the pharmacist commented on all of the outbreaks, she has seen lately. It does seem like it really had spiraled around me.

Have you have any outbreaks in your area?  

I need to get a shot for it too, but I, also needed a tetanus shot, so I got that instead. I will get the  hep shot a bit later

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I think you're smart to get the tetanus shot because it's a lot easier to get that than it is to get hepatitis. Please let us know the effects of the hepatitis shot; I do have one (unusual) form of hep. but I may need to get vaccinated against A, B, and C. (I'm glad you brought this up because it never occurred to me that I might need additional vaccinations against the other 3 forms).

I think these outbreaks are increasing because a lot of people are coming into the country who haven't been vaccinated and too many parents refuse to vaccinate their children. I think they're criminally stupid and their unvaccinated children shouldn't be allowed into the public school system; their chances of starting an epidemic are high.

If the choose not to vaccinate on "religious" grounds (where does it say in the Bible "thou shalt not vaccinate they children"?) then I guess they'll have to try private schools (who probably won't let them in) or start home-schooling their kids.

I learned the hard way. When my son was about 11 years old he came down with SHINGLES because he'd been playing with a kid who had chicken pox. Since our son had chicken pox when he was 14 months old (and this was before there was a chicken pox vaccine) we never considered the thought of a vaccination. It was hell; my poor little baby came down with roseola (a not uncommon occurance among people who've had chicken pox) and ran a temperature of 106 degrees (at 2:00 am when my DH was out of town and I was so rattled I didn't think to give him a cool bath to get his temperature down.

My point: get every vaccination that's available to you and your children and of course consults with your doctor.

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@FuzzyFace, I hope that our resident expert @pitdakota will weigh in here.

My understanding is that shingle is in no way contagious. You cannot get shingles from someone who has chicken pox. If you have never had chicken pox, though, you can conceivably contract it from close contact with a shingles patient, although not a very common occurrence.

Those who get shingles have had the chickenpox virus, which lies dormant in their system and can become active as shingles --  mostly, but not always, later in life.

Maybe your son's roseola (most often a disease that hits younger children), was mistaken for shingles.

[hsawaknow]

Thanks for the info, I didn't know they had a Hep A shot. I need to get my Shingles shot. I will ask about the Heps injections.

[Isobel Archer]

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@suzyQ3 wrote:

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

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@maestra wrote:

 both Hep A and Hep B. and Shingles; also Tetanus.

A Hardees restaurant in Charlotte, NC had a cook who had Hep. A and exposed thousands to this disease. Free vaccines are being offered to folks who dined at this restaurant between recent dates.

I took the vaccines a few years ago as a prophylactic measure.

---

So how did he pass this on?  I thought we were told it could only be through fecal matter.  Did he not wash his hands - or is this more contagious than we were led to believe?

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@Isobel Archer, bingo. Or at least not adequately.

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So this person was a cook - and potentially infected thousands of people - 1400 got shots and many more apparently may not even know they were at risk.

So was he fired I wonder.  I mean this is pretty serious - and for a cook not to be washing his hands appropriately - OMG.

[suzyQ3]

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

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@suzyQ3 wrote:

---

@Isobel Archer wrote:

---

@maestra wrote:

 both Hep A and Hep B. and Shingles; also Tetanus.

A Hardees restaurant in Charlotte, NC had a cook who had Hep. A and exposed thousands to this disease. Free vaccines are being offered to folks who dined at this restaurant between recent dates.

I took the vaccines a few years ago as a prophylactic measure.

---

So how did he pass this on?  I thought we were told it could only be through fecal matter.  Did he not wash his hands - or is this more contagious than we were led to believe?

---

@Isobel Archer, bingo. Or at least not adequately.

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So this person was a cook - and potentially infected thousands of people - 1400 got shots and many more apparently may not even know they were at risk.

So was he fired I wonder.  I mean this is pretty serious - and for a cook not to be washing his hands appropriately - OMG.

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@Isobel Archer, I doubt there is any liability unless they could prove it was intentional.

A good friend of mine contracted Hep A, probably from a restaurant. I took both her children to get gamma globulin shots that supposedly would help them avoid it. But the next her son came down with it.

I can attest to my friend's good hygiene, but, yes, he must have gotten from her.

[GusMo]

And Hepatits B is a leading cause of liver cancer. 

I have had both Hep A shots, and Hep B shots. 

[GusMo]

Hepatitis A is actually much more prevalant than Tetanus.

Do make sure your tetanus has some pertussis in it (Tdap)

[GusMo]

You are right--you cannot get shingles unless you have had chicken pox. It the reactivation that lives dormant on your nerves. 

So, if you have NOT had chicken pox or the vaccine, you can get chicken pox from someone with shingles. 

Also the older chld's rash wasn't roseola--we really do not see that past toddler age.