Viral Hepatitis

Hepatitis A

• Very rare in the UK.
• Usually passed on through contaminated food and water.
• Very common in places where it is hard to access clean drinking water.
• Most people will make a full recovery without medical treatment.
• Can be more dangerous for people with a long term liver condition.
• A free and very effective vaccine is available for people at risk.

Hepatitis B

• Affects millions of people around the world.
• Passed on by blood to blood contact.
• Infections of over 6 months are called chronic hepatitis B and are usually lifelong.
• Mostly picked up at birth or as a small child.
• In some people leads to cirrhosis or liver cancer.
• Free and very effective vaccine.
• Cannot be cured, but can be controlled.

Hepatitis C

• Passed on by blood to blood contact.
• Many people won’t have symptoms for months or even years.
• Can be diagnosed and checked using blood tests.
• Free home tests available are in England.
• There is no vaccine.
• Can be easily treated. Most people have no side effects.
• If not treated, hepatitis C can be very dangerous.

Hepatitis D

• You can only get hepatitis D if you have had hepatitis B.
• You can have hepatitis B and D at the same time.
• Or you can get hepatitis D at a later date.
• The hepatitis B vaccine also protects against hepatitis D.
• Having both hepatitis B and D for a long time increases the risk of serious problems.

Hepatitis E

• Usually passed on through contaminated food or undercooked meat.
• Most people will get better in a few months.
• Can sometimes cause more serious, long term liver damage.
• People who are immunosuppressed, pregnant, or who have had a transplant are more at risk.

Tests for viral hepatitis

Get quick information about the main tests for viral hepatitis

• Antigen tests.
• Antibody tests.
• PCR tests for DNA and RNA.

You can also find more detailed information about tests on each of the condition pages.