WHAT IS HEPATITIS?

What is Hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. The liver is a vital organ that processes nutrients, filters the blood and fights infections. When the liver is inflamed or damaged, its function can be affected.

Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of infection, but catching a virus isn’t the only way to contract hepatitis. The condition can also be caused by a variety of factors including alcohol abuse, taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs, exposure to toxic chemicals and autoimmune diseases.

Today, viral hepatitis is a major global public health issue causing acute and chronic liver disease and killing over 1.5 million people every year. Viral infections of the liver include hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E and can be divided into:

Acute illness: comes on quickly and goes away quickly.

Chronic illness: lasts longer than six months and may progress over years, even decades, leading to liver scarring, liver cancer and liver failure.

Hepatitis A usually only causes a short-term (acute) infection that your body can overcome, while hepatitis B, C, and D are most likely to become ongoing and chronic. The chronic forms are more dangerous. Hepatitis E is usually acute but can be particularly dangerous in pregnant women.

Did you know?

Hepatitis is the seventh-leading cause of death worldwide, placing it ahead of HIV/AIDS.

Signs and Symptoms

Short-term (acute) hepatitis often has no noticeable symptoms, so you may not even know you have it, but you can still spread the disease. If symptoms do develop, they can include:

Feeling unusually tired all the time
A high temperature or fever
Muscle and joint pain
Feeling and being sick
Loss of appetite
Stomach pain
Itchy skin
Light stools
Dark urine
Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice)
Unexplained weight loss
A general sense of feeling unwell

Long-term (chronic) hepatitis may also not have any obvious symptoms until the liver stops working properly (liver failure) and may only be picked up during blood tests.

Interesting Fact

Most people don't realise they have hepatitis. According to WHO, 290 million people who have hepatitis are not even aware that they are infected.

Who is at Risk of Hepatitis?

Some groups of people are at higher risk of contracting hepatitis; talk to your doctor about screening options if you are in one of these groups:

International travellers, especially those who travel to Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
Those who use illegal drugs, particularly injection drugs.
Children whose mother had hepatitis B.

If you live with someone who has chronic hepatitis.
Having multiple sexual partners, or having sex with someone who has hepatitis.
Men who have same-sex intercourse.
Healthcare workers who come in contact with blood, stool or other bodily fluids.

The 5 types of viral hepatitis

There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.

They all cause inflammation of the liver but are transmitted differently.