Does the research evidence support using caesarean section for reducing mother to baby transmission of hepatitis C during labour and birth - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... y Armstrong and his colleagues, the incidence of Hepatitis C infection in the US escalated from zero to 44 cases for every 100,000 individuals before 1965. The prevalence of the disease reached its peak in the 1980’s when the incidence of HPV infection became 100-200 per 100,000 individuals (Armstrong et al., 2000, p. 779). Although HCV infection in most patients is asymptomatic, several cases demonstrate certain symptoms including jaundice, fatigue, myalgia, low-grade fever, right upper quadrant pain, nausea, or vomiting (Moore et al., 2001, p. 658; Maheshwari et al., 2008, p. 325; Webster et al., 2009, p. 110). If not given appropriate medical attention, hepatitis C often leads to liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, hepato-cellular carcinoma, and liver damage (Vogt et al., 1999, p. 868; Moore et al., 2001; 657; Geller and Herman, 2006, p. 88)
The most efficient mode by which the virus is acquired occurs via repeated and direct percutaneous exposure to infected blood and organs from unscreened donors, exposure of blood through the use of contaminated medical instruments, injection drug use, and haemodialysis procedures (Lavanchy, 1999, p. 147; Bartolotti et al., 2007, p. 784). However, with the advent of better needle exchange programs, blood donor screening, hygiene care, and education among injecting drug users, a significant decline in the prevalence of Hepatitis C has been reported since the 1990s (Armstorng et al., 2000, p. 779; Geller and Herman, 2006, p 86). Another route by which HCV infection can be acquired is through vertical transmission ( e.i. passive acquisition of the virus by children from infected mothers) ( Kudo et al., 1997, p. 225). The actual mechanism of mother-to-child HCV transmission is not yet known, but exposure to infected mucous, fluids and blood from the mother significantly increases the risk of transmission (Indolfi and Resti, 2009, p. 837)
According to Plunkett et al. (2004, p. 998), the highest prevalence of Hepatitis C occurs ...Download file to see next pagesRead More