THE 5 TYPES OF VIRAL HEPATITIS

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is a short-term illness that is usually transmitted through contaminated food or water.

You can also catch it through close contact with an infected person. The virus is often found in developing countries where there is a lack of sanitation and water purification.

In the majority of cases, no special treatment other than bed rest is required; and most people recover fully from the disease, with no liver damage.

People with underlying conditions are more prone to complications, however, which could require hospitalisation and even lead to death. Travellers are also at risk of contracting a form of "travel-hepatitis."

To protect yourself from hepatitis A, it is recommended that you:

Get vaccinated before travelling to an area where hepatitis A is common – such as Asia, (except Japan), Africa, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean Islands and Eastern Europe.
Avoid easily contaminated food items. These include fresh vegetables or fruit (unless it can be peeled), raw shellfish, tap water and ice cubes.

Once you have had hepatitis A, you cannot get it again. Your body develops antibodies to protect you for life.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a much more severe and longer-lasting disease than hepatitis A. It is transmitted through contact with infectious body fluids, such as blood, vaginal secretions or semen, containing the hepatitis B virus.

For some people, the infection only lasts for a few weeks; this is acute hepatitis B. Those who develop chronic hepatitis B will have a lifelong infection that can cause liver cancer, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or death. In most cases, HBV infections do not present with any symptoms or only mild flu-like symptoms, so you may go undiagnosed until years later when the disease can become more severe.

Hepatitis B can be spread from mother to baby during birth, sex with an infected person, sharing needles and syringes, sharing items such as razors or toothbrushes or coming into contact with the blood or open wound of an infected person.

You can protect yourself with a vaccine against this very dangerous form of hepatitis. Therapies to manage chronic HBV are also available, but once infected, there is no current treatment to cure individuals. Therefore, screening to identify HBV, and prevention of new infections is key. If you have had hepatitis B once, you cannot get it again.

Did you know?

Vaccines are available for hepatitis A and B.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is an infection that is transmitted through direct contact with infected body fluids, typically through the use of unsterilised needles and sexual contact.

This can occur during blood transfusions, contaminated medical equipment, and injection drug use. The infection can become chronic in up to 85 per cent of those infected.

Hepatitis C can be as deadly as hepatitis B. However, sometimes it takes a milder course, resulting in only an acute infection. But it is more dangerous than hepatitis B, because there is no vaccination against it - yet.

You can have hepatitis C and not know you have it. It often causes no noticeable symptoms, or only flu-like symptoms, so the infection can remain undiagnosed until irreversible liver damage occurs and a liver transplant is needed. Antiviral medications are used to treat both acute and chronic forms of hepatitis C.

Did you know?

People infected with hepatitis B and C can develop a chronic infection that lasts many years. Chronic infection is one of the leading causes of liver cancer.

Hepatitis D

Hepatitis D, also known as delta hepatitis, is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV). It is contracted through direct contact with infected blood.

It is a rare form of hepatitis that only affects people who are already infected with hepatitis B, as it needs the hepatitis B virus to be able to survive in the body, meaning it is a co-infection.

A superinfection can occur if you already have chronic hepatitis B and then become infected with hepatitis D. There's no vaccine specifically for hepatitis D, but the hepatitis B vaccine can help protect you from it.

Hepatitis E

Hepatitis E is transmitted by ingesting water contaminated by an infected person’s faeces. You can also get hepatitis E by eating undercooked pork, venison or shellfish.

Outbreaks are mainly found in areas with poor sanitation.

Hepatitis E is generally a mild and short-term infection that does not require any treatment, but it can be serious in some people, such as those who have a weakened immune system or pregnant women who are at increased risk of liver failure and death. Hepatitis E does not result in chronic infection.

There's no vaccine for hepatitis E. When travelling to parts of the world with poor sanitation, where hepatitis E may be common, you can reduce your risk by practising good food and water hygiene measures.

6 facts about hepatitis:

Acute hepatitis is often caused by a viral infection

Your symptoms can range from mild and flu-like to severe and life-threatening

Doctors do blood tests to see if you have acute hepatitis and what virus is the cause

You can get vaccines to prevent some types of viral hepatitis

Certain activities, like getting tattoos or piercings, sharing needles to inject drugs or having several sex partners, raise your risk of getting hepatitis

Hepatitis kills over 1.5 million people every year