ITS Environmental Services is the leading expert in the disinfection of Hepatitis. We provide emergency commercial and residential disinfecting services throughout New York, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Hepatitis Disinfection Services
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. When the liver is inflamed or damaged, its function can be affected. Heavy alcohol use, toxins, some medications, and certain medical conditions can cause hepatitis but a virus often causes hepatitis.
What is the difference between hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C?
Hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C are liver infections caused by three different viruses. Although each can cause similar symptoms, they have different modes of transmission and can affect the liver differently. Hepatitis A is usually a short-term infection and does not become chronic. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C can also begin as short-term, acute infections, but in some people, the virus remains in the body, resulting in chronic disease and long-term liver problems. There are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and hepatitis B; however, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C.
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus. It can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. Although rare, hepatitis A can cause death in some people. Hepatitis A usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person.
Hepatitis A Symptoms can include:
Older children and adults typically have symptoms. If symptoms develop, they can appear abruptly and can include:
Fever
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal pain
Dark urine
Clay-colored stools
Joint pain
Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)
*As mentioned above, older children and adults typically have symptoms. Most children younger than age 6 do not have symptoms when they have hepatitis A. When symptoms are present, young children typically do not have jaundice but older children and adults with hepatitis A have jaundice.
Hepatitis A Transmission
Hepatitis A usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person. Hepatitis A can also spread from close personal contact with an infected person such as through sex or caring for someone who is ill. Contamination of food (this can include frozen and undercooked food) by hepatitis A can happen at any point: growing, harvesting, processing, handling, and even after cooking. Contamination of food or water is more likely to occur in countries where hepatitis A is common and in areas where there are poor sanitary conditions or poor personal hygiene. In the United States, chlorination of water kills hepatitis A virus that enters the water supply.
Hepatitis A Disinfection Method should include:
In the environment, HAV can be killed by cleaning household or other facility surfaces with a freshly prepared solution of 1:100 dilution of household bleach to water.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B is transmitted when blood, semen, or another body fluid from a person infected with the Hepatitis B virus enters the body of someone who is not infected. This can happen through sexual contact; sharing needles, syringes, or other drug-injection equipment; or from mother to baby at birth. For some people, hepatitis B is an acute, or short-term, illness but for others, it can become a long-term, chronic infection. Risk for chronic infection is related to age at infection: approximately 90% of infected infants become chronically infected, compared with 2%–6% of adults. Chronic Hepatitis B can lead to serious health issues, like cirrhosis or liver cancer. The best way to prevent Hepatitis B is by getting vaccinated.
Hepatitis B Symptoms can include:
Newly acquired (acute) HBV infections only cause symptoms some of the time. The presence of signs and symptoms varies by age. Most children under age 5 years and newly infected immunosuppressed adults are generally asymptomatic, whereas 30%–50% of persons aged ≥5 years have signs and symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they can include:
Fever
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal pain
Dark urine
Clay-colored bowel movements
Joint pain
Jaundice
*Some acute HBV infections will resolve on their own, but some will develop into chronic infection. Most persons with chronic HBV infection are asymptomatic and have no evidence of liver disease. However, some persons may develop chronic hepatitis (elevation of AST/ALT), cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of liver cancer).Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV).
Hepatitis B Transmission
HBV is transmitted through activities that involve percutaneous (i.e., puncture through the skin) or mucosal contact with infectious blood or body fluids (e.g., semen, saliva), including:
Sex with an infected partner
Injection drug use that involves sharing needles, syringes, or drug-preparation equipment
Birth to an infected mother
Contact with blood or open sores of an infected person
Needle sticks or sharp instrument exposures
Sharing items such as razors or toothbrushes with an infected person
*HBV is not spread through food or water, sharing eating utensils, breastfeeding, hugging, kissing, hand holding, coughing, or sneezing. HBV can survive outside the body at least 7 days and still be capable of causing infection.
Hepatitis B Disinfection Methods should include:
Any blood spills —including dried blood, which can still be infectious —should be cleaned using 1:10 dilution of one part household bleach to 10 parts of water for disinfecting the area. Gloves should be worn when cleaning up any blood spills.
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus. Today, most people become infected with the Hepatitis C virus by sharing needles or other equipment to inject drugs. For some people, hepatitis C is a short-term illness but for 70%–85% of people who become infected with Hepatitis C, it becomes a long-term, chronic infection. Chronic Hepatitis C is a serious disease than can result in long-term health problems, even death. The majority of infected persons might not be aware of their infection because they are not clinically ill. There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C. The best way to prevent Hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease, especially injecting drugs.
Hepatitis C Symptoms can include:
People with newly acquired HCV infection usually are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms that are unlikely to prompt a visit to a health care professional. When symptoms do occur, they can include:
Fever
Fatigue
Dark urine
Clay-colored stool
Abdominal pain
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Joint pain
Jaundice
Approximately 20%–30% of those newly infected with HCV experience fatigue, abdominal pain, poor appetite, or jaundice.
Hepatitis C Transmission
HCV is transmitted primarily through parenteral exposures to infectious blood or body fluids that contain blood. Possible exposures include:
Injection drug use (currently the most common means of HCV transmission in the United States)
Receipt of donated blood, blood products, and organs (once a common means of transmission but now rare in the United States since blood screening became available in 1992)
Needlestick injuries in health care settings
Birth to an HCV-infected motherAlthough infrequent, HCV can also be spread through:
Sex with an HCV-infected person (an inefficient means of transmission, although HIV-infected men who have sex with men [MSM] have increased risk of sexual transmission)
Sharing personal items contaminated with infectious blood, such as razors or toothbrushes (also inefficient vectors of transmission)
Other health care procedures that involve invasive procedures, such as injections (usually recognized in the context of outbreaks)
Unregulated tattooing
Hepatitis C Disinfection Methods should include:
Any blood spills —including dried blood, which can still be infectious —should be cleaned using a dilution of one part household bleach to 10 parts water. Gloves should be worn when cleaning up blood spills.