Symptoms and Signs of Viral Hepatitis

What are the Symptoms and Signs of Viral Hepatitis?

The period of time between exposure to hepatitis and the onset of the illness is called the incubation period. The incubation period varies depending on the specific hepatitis virus. Hepatitis A virus has an incubation period of about 15 to 45 days; Hepatitis B virus from 45 to 160 days, and Hepatitis C virus from about 2 weeks to 6 months.

Many patients infected with HAV, HBV, and HCV have few or no symptoms of illness. For those who do develop symptoms of viral hepatitis, the most common are flu- like symptoms including:

• ·       Loss of Appetite
  ·       Nausea
  
  
  
  ·       Vomiting
  ·       Fever
  
  
  
  ·       Weakness
  ·       Tiredness
  
  
  
  ·       Aching in the Abdomen

Less common symptoms include:

• Dark urine
  
• Light-colored stools
• Fever
• Jaundice (a yellow appearance to the skin and white portion of the eyes)

Some people with hepatitis have no symptoms, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK).

Causes :

Hepatitis can be caused by drugs, alcohol or other toxins, by infection with bacteria, viruses or parasites, or when the body mistakenly attacks the liver (an autoimmune disease), according to the World Health Organization.

Hepatitis viruses are the most common cause of the illness.

Hepatitis A and E are acute (short-term) viral infections typically transmitted through food or water contaminated by fecal matter, the WHO says. The primary sources of the hepatitis A and E viruses are raw or under cooked food, food handled by people who have not properly washed their hands and water contaminated by animal or human waste. Hepatitis E  is rare in the United States, but common in other parts of the world, according to the CDC. Hepatitis B is spread through exposure to infected blood, through sexual contact with an infected person, or during childbirth, when the virus can be transmitted from mother to child, according to the NIDDK.

Hepatitis C is mainly spread through contact with the blood of an infected person, according to the CDC. Such contact can occur when people share needles to inject drugs. Less commonly, hepatitis C can spread through sex or childbirth.

Hepatitis D is also spread through contact with blood, but infections with this virus only occur when someone is also infected with hepatitis B. Injection drug users are at greatest risk for this type of hepatitis, according to the NIDDK.

Complications :

Chronic infection and inflammation can lead to extensive scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) and impaired liver functions. While the estimated number of new infections in the United States has been declining, hepatitis B and C viruses can persist as chronic infections, according to statistics reported to the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. Both are leading causes of chronic liver disease and liver cancer in the United States.

About 2 to 6 percent of adults infected with hepatitis B, and about 75 to 85 percent of people infected with hepatitis C, will develop a chronic infection, according to the CDC. Infants and children who contract hepatitis B have a higher risk for chronic infection.

Hepatitis B infections can also increase the risk of becoming infected with hepatitis D, which cannot be contracted unless there's already a pre-existing hepatitis B infection, according to the Mayo Clinic. Hepatitis B can also cause kidney problems, and infected adults are more likely than children to experience kidney failure.

Both hepatitis A and E do not lead to chronic infections, according to the CDC. However, in rare cases, acute liver failure could occur in older adults and those who already have other chronic liver diseases.