hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. viral hepatitis is inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. there are five identified types of viral hepatitis and each one is caused by a different virus. in the united states hepatitis a hepatitis b and hepatitis c are the most common types. hepatitis a is caused by hepatitis a virus (hav) hepatitis b is caused by hepatitis b virus (hbv) and hepatitis c is caused by hepatitis c virus (hcv).
what is viral hepatitis?