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                    What Is Viral Hepatitis?

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        Hepatitis (Viral)
        What Is Viral Hepatitis?
                Hepatitis A
                Hepatitis B
                Hepatitis C
                Hepatitis D
                Hepatitis EWhat Is Viral Hepatitis?
Viral hepatitis is an infection  that causes liver inflammation and damage. Inflammation is swelling  that occurs when tissues of the body become injured or infected. Inflammation  can damage organs. Researchers have discovered several different viruses that cause hepatitis, including hepatitis A, B, C, D,  and E.
Hepatitis A and hepatitis E typically spread through contact with food or water  that has been contaminated by an infected person’s stool. People may also get hepatitis E by eating  undercooked pork, deer, or shellfish.
Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis D spread through contact with an infected person’s  blood. Hepatitis B and D may also spread through contact with other body  fluids. This contact can occur in many ways, including sharing drug needles or  having unprotected sex.
The hepatitis A and E viruses  typically cause only acute, or short-term, infections. In an acute infection,  your body is able to fight off the infection and the virus goes away.
The hepatitis B, C, and D  viruses can cause acute and chronic, or long-lasting, infections. Chronic  hepatitis occurs when your body isn’t able to fight off the hepatitis virus and  the virus does not go away. Chronic hepatitis can lead to complications such as cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver  cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis  can prevent or lower your chances of developing these complications.
When doctors can’t find the cause of a person’s  hepatitis, they may call this condition non-A–E hepatitis or hepatitis X.  Experts think that unknown viruses other than hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E may  cause some cases of hepatitis. Researchers are working to identify these  viruses.
Although non-A–E hepatitis is most often acute, it can  become chronic.        Last Reviewed May 2017
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