One frequent cause is viruses. With viral infection, the liver becomes inflamed and usually becomes tender and swollen. Patches of liver tissue may be destroyed. Even mild cases tend to get worse over time, often resulting in cirrhosis of the liver. How sporadic cases occur, which are not associated with transfusions, is unclear.
Sexual transmission is suspected.
They are called asymptomatic carriers. Symptoms may appear 2 weeks to 6 months after you are infected. Some people develop a chronic form of the disease without any obvious symptoms, even though damage to the liver may be occurring. The symptoms of chronic hepatitis may be persistent fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, as well as some of the other symptoms of hepatitis. Often chronic hepatitis has no symptoms.