Hepatitis B is spread when a person who is not immune comes in contact with blood or body fluid from an infected person. Hepatitis B is spread by having sex with an infected person without a condom, sharing needles or "works" when "shooting" drugs, needlesticks or sharps exposures in a health care setting, or from an infected mother to her baby during vaginal birth.
Exposure to blood in ANY situation can be a risk for transmission. It is spread when a person who is not immune comes in contact with blood or body fluids from an infected person. Hepatitis C is spread through sharing needles or "works" when "shooting" drugs, through needlestick or sharps exposures in a health care setting, or sometimes from an infected mother to her baby during vaginal birth.
It is possible to get hepatitis C from sex, but it is uncommon. Navigation menu. Hepatitis B can range from a mild illness, lasting a few weeks, to a serious, life-long chronic condition.
Hepatitis C can range from a mild illness, lasting a few weeks, to a serious, life-long chronic infection. Most people who get infected with the hepatitis C virus develop chronic hepatitis C. Hepatitis A is spread when a person ingests fecal matter—even in microscopic amounts—from contact with objects, food, or drinks contaminated by feces or stool from an infected person. Hepatitis B is primarily spread when blood, semen, or certain other body fluids- even in microscopic amounts — from a person infected with the hepatitis B virus enters the body of someone who is not infected.
The hepatitis B virus can also be transmitted from:. Hepatitis C is spread when blood from a person infected with the Hepatitis C virus — even in microscopic amounts — enters the body of someone who is not infected. The hepatitis C virus can also be transmitted from:. Acute: No medication available; best addressed through supportive care Chronic: Regular monitoring for signs of liver disease progression; some patients are treated with antiviral drugs.
Acute: There is not a recommended treatment for acute hepatitis C. People should be considered for treatment if their infection becomes chronic. Chronic: There are several medications available to treat chronic hepatitis C. Many people with hepatitis do not have symptoms and do not know they are infected. If symptoms occur with an acute infection, they can appear anytime from 2 weeks to 6 months after exposure. Symptoms of chronic viral hepatitis can take decades to develop.
Symptoms of hepatitis can include: fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Viral Hepatitis.
Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. What is Viral Hepatitis? Minus Related Pages. What causes it? Some types will pass without any serious problems, while others can be long-lasting chronic and cause scarring of the liver cirrhosis , loss of liver function and, in some cases, liver cancer. Get advice about coronavirus and liver disease from the British Liver Trust. Short-term acute hepatitis often has no noticeable symptoms, so you may not realise you have it.
See your GP if you have any persistent or troublesome symptoms that you think could be caused by hepatitis. Long-term chronic hepatitis also may not have any obvious symptoms until the liver stops working properly liver failure and may only be picked up during blood tests.
In the later stages it can cause jaundice, swelling in the legs, ankles and feet, confusion , and blood in your stools or vomit. Hepatitis A is caused by the hepatitis A virus. It's usually caught by consuming food and drink contaminated with the poo of an infected person, and is most common in countries where sanitation is poor. Hepatitis A usually passes within a few months, although it can occasionally be severe and even life threatening.
There's no specific treatment for it, other than to relieve symptoms like pain, nausea and itching. Hepatitis B is caused by the hepatitis B virus, which is spread in the blood of an infected person.
It's a common infection worldwide and is usually spread from infected pregnant women to their babies, or from child-to-child contact. Hepatitis B is uncommon in the UK. Most cases affect people who became infected while growing up in part of the world where the infection is more common, such as southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Most adults infected with hepatitis B are able to fight off the virus and fully recover from the infection within a couple of months.
But most people infected as children develop a long-term infection. This is known as chronic hepatitis B, and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
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