Viral Hepatitis

These can be picked up in a number of ways. Most people get them by eating food or drinking water which has been contaminated with infected faeces as a result of poor hygiene or inadequate cooking. Less commonly, they can be transmitted through cuts in the skin or mucous membranes - sharing razor blades, toothbrushes, or needles if injecting drugs are common risk factors. Hepatitis A can be also passed on by having unprotected sex with a person who already has the virus, usually between men who have sex with men. The hepatitis caused by HAV and HEV is usually mild, and doesn’t require treatment, although hepatitis E can occasionally be serious in those with a weakened immune system.  A vaccine is available to prevent hepatitis A - people with cirrhosis and those visiting developing countries should be vaccinated. There is not yet a commercially available vaccine for HEV. Find out more about hepatitis E here.

his is the most common cause of viral hepatitis worldwide, due to either the infection being passed on from mother to baby at birth or becoming infected in early childhood. Sexual transmission and exposure to other body fluids are also common risk factors. In the UK, hepatitis B is most commonly transmitted through blood and other bodily fluids – sharing needles to inject drugs or having unprotected sex with someone who already has the virus, for instance. It’s not spread through food or water or ‘casual’ contact, such as holding hands, coughing or sneezing. A vaccine is available to prevent it.

This is passed on via contaminated blood. Common risk factors include sharing contaminated needles during intravenous drug use, sharing personal items contaminated with blood such as razors, or having unprotected sex with someone who already has the virus. It can be transmitted from mother to baby during birth. Previously people have been infected by blood products although these are now rigorously tested in the UK and are safe. Currently, there is no vaccine available but there are very effective treatments available for hepatitis C, so it’s important to get tested if you have ever been at risk.

You can only get hepatitis D if you already have hepatitis B, as hepatitis D needs the hepatitis B virus to survive in the body. It is usually spread through blood-to-blood contact or sexual contact. It’s possible to become infected with both hepatitis B and D at the same time, or to become infected with hepatitis D at a later date. Having both hepatitis B and D is called co-infection, and chronic (long-term) infection with both increases the risk of developing serious liver diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. If you have been diagnosed with hepatitis B you should be tested for hepatitis D with a separate blood test that looks specifically for anti-hepatitis D antibodies in your blood. If these are found, it means you have been exposed to the hepatitis D virus. There is no vaccine for hepatitis D but if you have been vaccinated against hepatitis B this also protects you from hepatitis D.