Posted on 03/03/2007 2:43:22 PM PST by FairOpinion
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Findings from a study of Olympic wrestlers indicate that hepatitis B virus is found in the sweat of infected individuals, and so sweating might be a way that the virus could be passed between participants in contact sports.
Bleeding wounds and mucous membranes have been implicated in hepatitis B transmission during contact sports, but until now no study had looked to see if sweat carries the virus.
Dr. S. Bereket-Yucel, from Celal Bayar University in Izmir, Turkey, tested for DNA of the hepatitis B virus in blood and sweat samples from 70 male Olympic wrestlers.
The results indicated that 9 (13 percent) of the wrestlers had the hepatitis B virus in their blood. However, these were deemed "occult" infections because no antibodies to the virus were detected in any of the wrestlers, according to the investigators' report released Thursday ahead of print by the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
In eight of the nine participants whose blood tested positive, DNA for hepatitis B was also detected in sweat.
Based on these results, "Evidence is emerging that the incidence of occult HBV in Olympic wrestling is higher than expected and that transmission of HBV may also occur through sweat," the researcher concludes.
"The advice of sports organizations about HBV testing should be changed," they recommend, "making it obligatory for all participants involved in contact sports and playing under adult rules to be vaccinated against hepatitis B."
SOURCE: British Journal of Sports Medicine, issued March 1, 2007.
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.co.uk ...
ping
Bad if true.
hepatitis B is a virus spread by sweat. How about HIV? Driveby media will dutifully speculate on this, I am sure.
Exactly.
Why haven't the medical researchers check the sweat of HIV positive people?
One of these day's the elitists will come to realize that life isn't perfect, never was meant to be perfect, and that it can never be perfect.
But then again, what would they do with all their spare time?
It's time for full-body condoms.
This doesn't surprise me in the least.
"Until now they were convinced that you couldn't spread it by contact."
Actually, not true. Although classified a blood-borne or bodily-fluid transmission virus, anyone who works in a clinical lab is aware of the Hep B virus' ability to live in unexpected places. Thus the requirement for all those who work with blood to be vaccinated.
From the CDC:
How long can HBV survive outside the body?
HBV can survive outside the body at least 7 days and still be capable of causing infection.
That is a rather amazing statement when you think about it. Is it in you also takes on a whole new meaning. OK, when they are sweating the blue stuff, that's hep-B.
BTTT!
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