Viral hepatitis is liver inflammation due to a viral infection. It may present in acute form as a recent infection with relatively rapid onset, or in chronic form.The most common causes of viral hepatitis are the five unrelated hepatotropic viruses hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. Other viruses can also cause liver inflammation, including cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus, and yellow fever. There also have been scores of recorded cases of viral hepatitis caused by herpes simplex virus. Mode Of Transmission
Viral hepatitis is either transmitted through contaminated food or water (A, E) or via blood and body fluids (B, C). The viruses transmitted through water and food are mostly self-limited, resulting in acute illness with full resolution. The blood borne viruses (B, C) can cause both acute and chronic liver disease and can be transmitted from mother to child during birth, through contact with body fluids during sex, unsafe injections and through unscreened blood transfusions.The most common types of hepatitis can be prevented or treated. Hepatitis A and hepatitis B can be prevented by vaccination. Effective treatments for hepatitis C are available but costly.In 2013, about 1.5 million people died from viral hepatitis, most commonly due to hepatitis B and C. East Asia, in particular Mongolia, is the region most affected. Hepatitis viruses
The most common cause of hepatitis is viral. Although the effects of various viruses are all classified under the disease hepatitis, these viruses are not all related.
Identified methods of transmission include contact with blood, blood transfusion (now rare), unsanitary tattoos, sex (through sexual intercourse or contact with bodily fluids), or mother-to-child by breast feeding; there is minimal evidence of transplacental crossing. However, in about half of cases the source of infection cannot be determined. Blood contact can occur by sharing syringes in intravenous drug use, shaving accessories such as razor blades, or touching wounds on infected persons. Needle-exchange programmes have been created in many countries as a form of prevention.Patients with chronic hepatitis B have antibodies against the virus, but not enough to clear the infected liver cells. The continued production of virus and countervailing antibodies is a likely cause of the immune complex disease seen in these patients. A vaccine is available to prevent infection for life. Hepatitis B infections result in 500,000 to 1,200,000 deaths per year worldwide due to the complications of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatitis B is endemic in a number of (mainly South-East Asian) countries, making cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma big killers. There are eight treatment options approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) available for persons with a chronic hepatitis B infection: alpha-interferon, pegylated interferon, adefovir, entecavir, telbivudine, lamivudine, tenofovir disoproxil and tenofovir alafenamide with a 65% rate of sustained response. Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C (originally "non-A non-B hepatitis") is caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), an RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae.