Hepatitis B is a disease of the liver. It's caused by the hepatitis B virus. Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It sits under your right ribcage. The liver has many important roles. It filters harmful chemicals from your blood. It helps you fight infections and it helps you digest your food. It stores nutrients, vitamins and energy. If your liver gets infected by the virus, it becomes inflamed. Inflammation is the body's response to an injury or infection. The inflammation from the hepatitis B virus can affect your liver's ability to do its job. You can have an acute or short-term hepatitis B infection. You may have mild to severe symptoms that last a few months, or you can have an ongoing (chronic) infection.
The hepatitis C virus is another type of hepatitis virus that causes an inflammation of the liver. HCV is transmitted though exposure to infected blood or blood products. In this video, you'll find out more about how it's transmitted, what treatments are available, and what you can do to protect yourself from this disease.
Lactose is the main sugar in cow's milk. People who have difficulty digesting milk have lactose intolerance. The condition is caused by a shortage of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose into a form that can be used by the body. This video explains how you can cope with this condition.
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci, or VRE, is a resistant bacteria that can sometimes cause infections of the urinary tract, the bloodstream or wounds. This program will explain some simple things patients can do to protect themselves from VRE.
