Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Savant]

[loose_ends]

[Daantaat]

Just a note about Hepatitis A, B and C.

Hep A is spread through feces contamination, usually when an infected person uses the bathroom and doesn't wash his/her hands, and then comes into contact with food that is then consumed by other people. This is a problem in the food industry everywhere in the world. Food handlers, be it at a deli or McDonalds, or wherever, spread Hep A because they are not washing their hands after using the toilet. Hep A is the mildest form of hepatitis, but it will still make you really sick. You can also get it from contaminated ice cubes in drinks, which is why on Canadian tv there are lots of commercials aimed at tourists heading to Mexico, reminding them to get hep vaccines before they travel.

Hep B is a blood borne illness. It is spread through contact with blood, and a lot of people are accidentally infected with it through needle sticks if they are nurses, for example. It can also be sexually transmitted, because it's in a person's blood and other bodily fluids. Hep B, once it's treated, will leave the sufferer with either antigens (they will be lifelong carriers of Hepatitis B but will usually not show symptoms. And it's true that many Asian people are carriers but do not have any symptoms) or antibodies (they will have a natural immunity to Hepatitis for the rest of their lives). Hep B sufferers will usually not have any long-term problems but the rare person may have liver problems at a later point in time. I had hep B about 20 years ago, turned yellow, got sick as a dog, got treated, and now I'm fine. I carry the antibodies and I've never had any liver problems since. I get my liver enzymes checked every few years and things are still good so far.

Hep C is the deadliest form of the disease. It is spread through bodily fluids, including sexually, and can lead to liver cancer, cirrhosis and other liver problems. Some people are born with it if their mother was infected while pregnant. There is no vaccine for it as far as I'm aware.

All in all, hepatitis A and B are not the worst diseases you could catch, and they are both treatable, but why take chances if you don't have to? If you can afford the vaccines, then it's a good precaution to take, and besides, everyone should be using condoms if they're sexually active anyway.

Oh, and a word about Korean men and condoms and Thailand. I used to have a Korean friend who liked to take vacations to Thailand and one time he came home sporting a real bad case of the clap or something. He said he'd been with a few prostitutes and didn't use condoms because he didn't like them. I asked him if he worried about HIV at all and he said no, because Koreans don't get that. It's just foreigners. Talk about naive.

[Johnwayne]