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Hepatitis Types A to G: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

Author: Disabled World (DW)
Updated/Revised Date: 2 Nov 2026

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - About This Section - FAQs - Publications - Subtopics

Synopsis

Learn how hepatitis types A, B, C, D, E, F, and G differ, including their causes, symptoms, transmission, and treatment options for this liver condition.

At a Glance

Topic Definition

Hepatitis

Hepatitis (plural: hepatitides) is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. Hepatitis may occur with limited or no symptoms, but often leads to yellow discoloration of the skin, mucus membranes, and conjunctivae, poor appetite and malaise. Hepatitis is acute when it lasts less than six months and chronic when it persists longer. The condition can be self-limiting (healing on its own) or can progress to fibrosis (scarring) and cirrhosis.

  • Acute Hepatitis - Varies widely from mild symptoms requiring no treatment to fulminant hepatic failure needing liver transplantation.
  • Chronic Hepatitis - Patients will remain asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, abnormal blood tests being the only manifestation.

Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of hepatitis worldwide. The most common causes of viral hepatitis are the five unrelated hepatotropic viruses;

  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Hepatitis C
  • Hepatitis D (requires Hepatitis B to cause disease)
  • Hepatitis E

Overview

Hepatitis implies injury to the liver, characterized by presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue. Hepatitis is considered acute when it lasts less than 6 months and chronic when it lasts longer. Worldwide, viruses are the most common cause of the condition. The presence of jaundice indicates advanced liver damage. On physical examination, there may be enlargement of the liver. Features may be related to the extent of liver damage or the cause of hepatitis. Many experience return of symptoms related to acute hepatitis. Jaundice can be a late feature that may indicate extensive damage.

Types of Hepatitis

Hepatitis A

A highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV).

Although not usually as serious as other types of viral hepatitis, hepatitis A causes inflammation that affects your liver's ability to function. This is significant because the liver performs hundreds of tasks that are essential for health and life.

You're most likely to contract hepatitis A from contaminated food or water or from close contact with someone who's already infected - even if that person doesn't appear sick. Some people who are infected never develop signs and symptoms, but others may feel as if they have a severe flu.

Mild cases of hepatitis A don't require treatment, and most people who are infected recover completely with no permanent liver damage. Unlike hepatitis B and C, hepatitis A doesn't develop into chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis - both potentially fatal conditions.

Following good hygiene practices - including washing your hands often - is one of the best ways to protect against hepatitis A. Effective vaccines are available for people who are most at risk.

Symptoms can return over the following 6 - 9 months and include:

Hepatitis B (HBV)

For some people, the infection becomes chronic, leading to liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis - a condition that causes permanent scarring of the liver. It is a DNA virus and one of many unrelated viruses that cause viral hepatitis.

The hepatitis B virus is transmitted in the blood and body fluids of someone who is infected - the same way the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, spreads. Yet, hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times as infectious as HIV.

Transmission results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood. Possible forms of transmission include (but are not limited to) unprotected sexual contact, blood transfusions, re-use of contaminated needles and syringes, and vertical transmission from mother to child during childbirth.

The hepatitis B virus primarily interferes with the functions of the liver by replicating in liver cells, known as hepatocytes. During HBV infection, the host immune response causes both hepatocellular damage and viral clearance.

Acute infection with hepatitis B virus is associated with acute viral hepatitis - an illness that begins with general ill-health, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, body aches, mild fever, dark urine, and then progresses to development of jaundice. Itchy skin has also been noted as a possible symptom of all hepatitis virus types. The illness lasts for a few weeks and then gradually improves in most affected people.

You're especially at risk if you're an intravenous (IV) drug user who shares needles, or other paraphernalia, have unprotected sexual contact with an infected partner, or were born in or travel to parts of the world where hepatitis B is widespread. In addition, women with HBV can pass the infection to their babies during childbirth.

Most people infected as adults recover fully from hepatitis B, even if their signs and symptoms are severe. Infants and children are much more likely to develop a chronic infection: about 9 in 10 infants who become infected, and about 1 in 3 children infected before age 6, go on to have lifelong infection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between about 580,000 and 2.4 million people in the United States are living with hepatitis B, and many of them do not know it. Although no cure exists for hepatitis B, several antiviral medicines can control a chronic infection and lower the risk of liver damage, and safe, effective vaccines prevent the disease. If you're already infected, taking certain precautions can help prevent HBV from spreading to others.

Hepatitis C

This disease, hepatitis C, is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is often called a silent illness because a person can have hepatitis C for many years and not know it. The virus spreads mainly through contact with infected blood, today most often through shared needles and other drug-injection equipment; before blood screening began in the United States in 1992, many people were infected through blood transfusions.

More than half of people who become infected with HCV develop a chronic infection. If it is not treated, about 5 to 25 percent of people with chronic hepatitis C develop cirrhosis over 10 to 20 years, and some go on to develop liver failure or liver cancer [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025]. Hepatitis C is a leading reason for liver transplants in many countries.

Worldwide, an estimated 47 million people have chronic hepatitis C, about 0.9 million new infections occur each year, and about 239,000 people died from hepatitis C in 2024, mostly from cirrhosis and liver cancer [World Health Organization, 2025]. In the United States, more than 2.4 million people, and perhaps as many as 4 million, had hepatitis C during 2017 to 2020.

Treatment has changed completely since the 2010s. Older treatments based on pegylated interferon and ribavirin worked for only about half of patients and caused many side effects. Today, direct-acting antiviral medicines, taken as pills for 8 to 12 weeks, cure more than 95 percent of people with hepatitis C [World Health Organization, 2025]. There is still no vaccine for hepatitis C, so testing and treatment are the main ways to prevent its spread.

Natural remedies and supplements sold for hepatitis C do not cure the infection, and some can harm the liver. Anyone considering them should talk with their doctor first.

Hepatitis D

Caused by hepatitis delta agent, which is considered a subviral satellite as it can only propagate in the presence of the Hepatitis B virus.

Hepatitis D, sometimes called hep D or HDV, is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV), a defective virus that needs the hepatitis B virus to exist. HDV causes a unique infection that requires the assistance of viral particles from hepatitis B virus (HBV) to replicate and infect other hepatocytes.

HDV infection occurs more commonly among adults than children, and is observed more commonly among patients with a history of intravenous drug use. Hepatitis D requires the presence of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) to reproduce. You can acquire hepatitis D infection at the same time as you are infected with hepatitis B. Hepatitis D is spread through contact with infected blood, contaminated needles or by having unprotected sex with a hepatitis D infected person. Vaccination against hepatitis B also protects against hepatitis D.

About 240 million people worldwide were living with chronic hepatitis B in 2024, and hepatitis D affects nearly 5 percent of people with chronic hepatitis B, an estimated 12 million people. Patients in the acute stage should rest as needed, eat a balanced diet, and avoid alcohol.

Hepatitis E

The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a common cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide. An estimated 20 million people are infected each year, about 3.3 million of them develop symptoms, and about 4,431 people died of hepatitis E in 2023 [World Health Organization, 2025]. Typically, acute infections resolve on their own in people with a healthy immune system. However, for those with weakened immunity, like organ transplant recipients or people with HIV, HEV can persist and become chronic. Pregnant women face heightened risks from HEV as well. A hepatitis E vaccine has been licensed in China since 2011 and is used in some outbreaks, but it is not widely available elsewhere, and there are no antiviral medicines approved specifically for this virus.

Symptoms are similar to those of hepatitis A. It can take a fulminant course in some patients, particularly pregnant women.

It is spread by fecal contaminated water within endemic areas. One of the largest outbreaks, with about 120,000 cases, occurred in the Xinjiang region of northwest China between 1986 and 1988.

Hepatitis E predominantly affects those aged 15 to 40 years of age and is most common in East and South Asia. Hepatitis E does not occur often in the USA. The virus has a 15 to 60 day incubation period, and infected persons may be contagious for up to two weeks after symptoms first appear. Symptoms include jaundice and flu-like aches and pains.

Hepatitis F

A hypothetical virus linked to hepatitis.

In the 1990s, some cases of hepatitis that were neither hepatitis A, B, C nor E were thought to be caused by a new virus, called hepatitis F virus (HFV), reported to consist of double-stranded DNA, unlike HAV and HEV, which are RNA-based. Its existence has never been confirmed.

Hepatitis G or GBV-C

First described early in 1996, Hepatitis G is another potential viral cause of hepatitis. The Hepatitis G virus has been identified and is probably spread by blood and sexual contact.

There is doubt about whether it causes hepatitis or is just associated with hepatitis, as it does not appear to replicate primarily in the liver. It is now classified as GBV-C. Often, patients with hepatitis G are infected at the same time by the hepatitis B or C virus, or both.

For most forms of acute viral hepatitis there is no specific treatment. Patients should rest as needed, avoid alcohol, and be sure to eat a balanced diet. Acute hepatitis C, however, is treated with the same antiviral medicines as chronic hepatitis C.

Symptoms, Facts and Statistics

Some people who have hepatitis have no symptoms. Others may have:

Hepatitis B (World)

Hepatitis B (US)

Of Persons Infected with Hepatitis C:

Frequently Asked Questions

Can hepatitis spread through casual contact?

Most hepatitis viruses do not spread through casual contact like hugging or sharing food, though hepatitis A and E can spread through contaminated food or water.

Is there a vaccine for every type of hepatitis?

Vaccines exist for hepatitis A and hepatitis B, and the hepatitis B vaccine also protects against hepatitis D, but there is no vaccine for hepatitis C.

How is hepatitis diagnosed?

Hepatitis is diagnosed with blood tests that check liver function and look for viral markers, and sometimes with imaging or a liver biopsy to assess damage.

Can you have more than one type of hepatitis at the same time?

Yes, a person can be infected with more than one hepatitis virus at once, and co-infection with hepatitis B and D or B and C is well documented.

Does drinking alcohol make hepatitis worse?

Alcohol places extra strain on the liver and can speed up damage, so people with hepatitis are generally advised to avoid alcohol entirely.

Can hepatitis be cured?

Hepatitis A and E usually clear on their own, hepatitis C can now be cured with modern antiviral drugs, while hepatitis B is managed rather than cured.

What foods support the liver during hepatitis?

A balanced diet with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein supports the liver, while fatty, salty, and heavily processed foods are best limited.

Who should get the hepatitis B vaccine?

In the United States, the hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all infants at birth and all adults up to age 59, as well as older adults with risk factors. It is safe and gives long-lasting protection.

References

Curated and edited by , Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Disabled World. This section is maintained by the Disabled World editorial team. Last updated:

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