You can choose any chronic disease (example: artherosclerosis) or infectious disease (ex: hepatitis A) - Essay Example

In general, hepatitis refers to the inflammation of the liver cells caused by a variety of causative agents which are now labeled and designated through various letters from A to E (World Health Organization, “Health Topics”). The small enterovirus which causes infectious hepatitis has a single strand RNA virus which does not possess an outer envelope (Bricker, et.al., p. 284). The transmission of this disease is fecal-oral, and in some instances of epidemics, infection is caused by contaminated food or water; it is not commonly transferred through the blood (Bricker, et.al., p. 284). It is a disease which is common in countries and in areas with poor sanitation, in developing countries, and in crowded urban areas.

It is also a self-limiting disease and has an incubation period of 15-50 days (Bricker, et.al., p. 284). The disease process of Hepatitis A starts with the ingestion of food items or water contaminated with the hepatitis A virus. As previously explained, the hepatitis A virus particularly targets the liver cells causing the latter to inflame or be infected. The virus enters the liver via the portal circulation and when it reaches the liver, it then multiplies in the liver cells (Bricker, et.al., p. 285). Hepatic injury is also caused by the virus (Bennett, “Infectious Diseases”).

The liver then displays necrosis or cell death as demonstrated by centrilobular areas and also a rise in the cellularity in the portal areas of the liver. As a result of the inflammation, the lymph nodes and the spleen can also exhibit inflammation (Bennett “Infectious Diseases”). The liver injury often manifest in three ways: by the direct cellular injury which manifests as increased serum liver enzyme levels; cholestasis which then leads to jaundice and increased bilirubin levels in the blood; and finally insufficient liver function which decreased the albumin levels in the blood and lengthens the prothrombin time (PT) (Bennett “Infectious