Transmission of Hepatitis

Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C are diseases caused by three different viruses. Although each can cause similar symptoms, they have different modes of transmission and can affect the liver differently.

Hepatitis A and E are mainly spread by contaminated food and water. Hepatitis A appears only as an acute or newly occurring infection and does not become chronic. People with Hepatitis A usually improve without treatment.

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C can also begin as acute infections, but in some people, the virus remains in the body, resulting in chronic disease and long-term liver problems.

There are vaccines to prevent Hepatitis A and B; however, there is not one for Hepatitis C. If a person has had one type of viral hepatitis in the past, it is still possible to get the other types.

Hepatitis B is mainly sexually transmitted, but may also be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy or childbirth. Both hepatitis B and hepatitis C are commonly spread through infected blood.

Increased risks for Hepatitis C:
Drug users during needle sharing by intravenous drug users,
Recipients of donated blood, blood products and organs (from a donor who tested positive for the Hepatitis C virus). This is now rare (since blood screening become available),
People getting a tattoo or piercing (if done with non-sterile instruments),
Hemodialysis patients or persons who spent many years on dialysis for kidney failure,
Health care workers injured by needlesticks,
Children born to mothers infected with the Hepatitis C virus,
The risk associated with unsterilized equipment at the barbers or hairdressers.

Less common risks include:
Having sexual contact with a person who is infected with the Hepatitis C virus,
Sharing personal care items, such as razors or toothbrushes, that may have come in contact with the blood of an infected person.

Hepatitis D can only infect people already infected with hepatitis B.

The most common cause of hepatitis worldwide are viruses. Other causes include heavy alcohol use, certain medications, toxins, other infections, autoimmune diseases, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Learn more about hepatitis.

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