Hepatitis refers to the swelling of the liver. It can be caused by viral infection, chemicals, drug abuse, certain medications or immune disorders. Several forms of viral hepatitis include hepatitis A, B and C, which are caused by hepatitis A, B, and C viruses respectively.
Each type of viral hepatitis spreads differently and requires different treatments.
Hepatitis A infection causes acute inflammation (swelling) of the liver. It is a self-limiting disease with symptoms lasting for several weeks before the patient recovers completely. It leads to lifelong immunity.
Hepatitis B infection is the most common infection of the liver. The majority of infected patients recover from acute hepatitis B infections and become immune to it. However some patients can develop a long-term hepatitis B infection, which leads to serious complications, such as chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver failure and liver cancer. Hepatitis B is endemic in Singapore and around 4% of the population are hepatitis B carriers.
Hepatitis C infection is responsible for the development of chronic liver disease worldwide. Most infected people cannot get rid of the virus and thus the virus causes ongoing damage to the liver over the years. Similar to hepatitis B, hepatitis C can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.