hepatitis is a disease of the liver. in hepatitis, the liver is inflamed. there can be several reasons why the liver is inflamed. for this reason there are several kinds of hepatitis. the most common forms are hepatitis a, hepatitis b and hepatitis c. most cases of hepatitis are caused by viruses. some forms are caused by bacteria, fungi or parasites. the bacteria that cause tuberculosis or syphilis can also cause hepatitis; so can the parasite that causes malaria.