Hepatitis, pronounced – HEP-ah-TY-tis, is inflammation of the liver caused by a virus that sometimes causes permanent damage.

Hepatitis makes your liver swell and stops it from working right. Hepatitis may be caused by viruses or by medicines or alcohol. Several different viruses – hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viruses – cause viral hepatitis.

All of these viruses cause acute, or short-term, viral hepatitis. The hepatitis B, C, and D viruses can also cause chronic hepatitis, in which the infection is prolonged, sometimes lifelong. Chronic hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer.

You need a healthy liver. The liver does many things to keep you alive. The liver fights infections and stops bleeding. It removes drugs and other poisons from your blood. The liver also stores energy for when you need it.

Symtoms of Hepatitis

Many people with hepatitis don’t have symptoms, but some people with hepatitis do. Some symtoms of hepatitis are:

• Jaundice, which causes a yellowing of the skin and eyes
• Fatigue
• Abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Low grade fever
• Headache

Other Types of Hepatitis

Hepatitis has the following forms:

• Autoimmune Hepatitis
  Autoimmune hepatitis is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks liver cells. This immune response causes inflammation of the liver, also called hepatitis.
• Hepatitis A
  A virus most often spread by unclean food and water.
• Hepatitis B
  A virus commonly spread by sexual intercourse or blood transfusion, or from mother to newborn at birth. Another way it spreads is by using a needle that was used by an infected person. Hepatitis B is more common and much more easily spread than the AIDS virus and may lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
• Hepatitis C
  A virus spread by blood transfusion and possibly by sexual intercourse or sharing needles with infected people. Hepatitis C may lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Hepatitis C used to be called non-A, non-B hepatitis.
• Hepatitis D
  Delta Agent – Delta agent is a type of virus that occurs mostly in people who take illegal drugs by using needles. Only people who have hepatitis B can get hepatitis D.
• Hepatitis E
  A virus spread mostly through unclean water. This type of hepatitis is common in developing countries. It has not occurred in the United States.

There are also other Causes of Hepatitis. These causes are called non-A-E hepatitis. Scientists continue to study the causes of non-A-E hepatitis.

For More Information About Hepatitis

American Liver Foundation (ALF)
75 Maiden Lane, Suite 603
New York, NY 10038-4810
Phone: 1-800-GO-Liver (465-4837)
1-888-4HEP-USA (443-7872), or 212-668-1000
Fax: 212-483-8179
Email: info@liverfoundation.org
Internet: www.liverfoundation.org

Hepatitis Foundation International (HFI)
504 Blick Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20904-2901
Phone: 1-800-891-0707 or 301-622-4200
Fax: 301-622-4702
Email: hfi@comcast.net
Internet: www.hepfi.org

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Division of Viral Hepatitis
1600 Clifton Road
Mail Stop C-14
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)
Fax: 404-371-5488
Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Internet: www.cdc.gov/hepatitis

National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)
2 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3570
Phone: 1-800-891-5389
TTY: 1-866-569-1162
Fax: 703-738-4929
Email: nddic@info.niddk.nih.gov
Internet: www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov

Source: digestive.niddk.nih.gov – February 2008