Viral hepatitis
Summary table: most common causes of viral hepatitis
| Virus | Hepatitis A | Hepatitis B | Hepatitis C |
| Transmission route | Faecal-oral | Infected needle or blood, sexual contact | Infected needle or blood, sexual contact |
| Incubation time (acute infection) | 15-50 days | 45-160 days | 14-180 days |
| Onset | Sudden | Either sudden or slow, unnoticed | Usually slow, unnoticed |
| Severity | Mild | Occasionally severe | Usually slow-developing and symptoms not specific or strong |
| Chronic form? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Associated with other diseases? | None | Liver cancer, cirrhosis | Liver cancer, cirrhosis |
| Testing to diagnose acute infection | HAV-Ab, IgM | HBsAg, Anti-HBc, IgM | Anti-HCV, HCV RNA (note - may have same results as in chronic hepatitis) |
| Testing to diagnose chronic infection or to monitor treatment | N/A | HBsAg, HBV DNA, HBeAg, Anti-HBe | Anti-HCV (once), HCV RNA or viral load, HCV genotype (once) |
| Tests that detect previous infection | HAV-Ab, IgG | Anti-HBs, Anti-HBc total | Anti-HCV |
| Vaccine available? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Common treatment | None | Chronic form - Interferon, entecavir, tenofovir, lamivudine, adefovir | Chronic form - Interferon (usually with ribavirin) |
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Abbreviations defined
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