Hepatitis is causing thousands of Americans to become ill each year.

There are many forms of the hepatitis virus ranging from A to E, but the most common forms are A and B.

Dr. Mark Blaedel, M.D., interim director of the Student Health Center, said the hepatitis A virus (HAV) is known as the “food handlers” disease. It can be contracted by food ingestion and through fecal and oral transmission.

Another way of acquiring HAV is when people use the restroom and neglect to wash their hands. They could then shake another person’s hand and transmit the virus, Blaedel said.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the most common form among college-aged students, he said.

According to Blaedel, HBV is an inflammation of the liver which decreases the liver’s ability to do its job. HBV may cause liver cancer and cirrhosis, which causes the liver to lose its ability to function.

The virus is transmitted by body fluids, sexual contact, needles and intimate contact such as kissing.

Blaedel said the virus can live on a needle for a week or more.

“Classically, it’s a disease of needle-users; now it’s known as an illness of sexual transmission,” Blaedel said.

The Merck Vaccine Division of Merck and Co., Inc., said HBV can also be transmitted through sharing personal items such as toothbrushes, cups and razors.

“Infections cause most of the cases of hepatitis,” Blaedel said.

Blaedel said symptoms of HBV may take one-and-a-half to six months after contact to appear.

“A lot of spreading can go on between the time you were exposed and the time you get sick,” he said.

Extreme fatigue, headaches, fever, aching joints and muscles, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and tenderness in the lower abdomen all are symptoms of HBV, according to a pamphlet distributed by Planned Parenthood.

According to Merck reports, HBV is the leading cause of cancer deaths in America. About 300,000 Americans contract hepatitis each year, and one in 10 people who acquire HBV become chronic carriers.

Blaedel said “chronic carrier” means the person can continue to spread the virus, and about 10 percent of people become chronic carriers.

Last year at the Student Health Center, two cases of HAV, three cases of HBV and one case of hepatitis C virus (HCV) were reported; however, there has not been a complete query on these numbers yet. Blaedel said he thinks these numbers are low.

“This is a scary disease,” he said.

Blaedel said he thinks the best protection is to stay away from needles, use condoms, pick your partners carefully and watch alcohol use which may cloud your judgment.

Usually HBV goes away after two to four weeks, but chronic carriers keep it longer, Blaedel said. HBV can cause people to feel fatigue for the rest of their life.

According to the American College Health Association, HBV is more contagious than AIDS. During the last decade, infection of HBV increased 77 percent in young adults.

HBV is the only sexually transmitted disease for which there is a vaccine. This vaccine is available at Student Health. It costs $120 and is given in a series of three shots. The vaccine will allow at least 10 years protection against the virus.

“The one main risk group that remains immunized is the college group,” Blaedel said.

The United States is considered a country where HBV has relatively low prevalence — only 5 to 10 percent. In Asia, as many as 70 to 80 percent of the population is exposed to hepatitis, Blaedel said.

Blaedel said this is a good reason for students planning to travel abroad to make an appointment at Student Health with the student travel abroad clinic.