Patient's question:
My mother-in-law has been looking yellow recently and always feels unwell. A short while ago, I took her to the hospital for a check-up, and the doctor said she has liver cirrhosis. My baby is now one year old, and I always take him to be with his grandmother. I was told that if the liver has problems, it can easily get infected, and I'm very worried that the child might get infected.Doctor's answer:
Liver cirrhosis is not necessarily infectious. In China, most liver cirrhosis patients are caused by chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C, and these cases of cirrhosis that develop from hepatitis first are infectious to a certain extent. Cirrhosis caused by other reasons is not infectious. Patients with cirrhosis that develop from hepatitis may have blood and body fluids containing varying amounts, different copy levels, and varying levels of virulence of hepatitis viruses. These viruses can be transmitted to others through surgery, medical devices, and horizontal spread, but casual contact, such as working together, dining, clinking glasses, or conversation, will not lead to hepatitis B or C infection.