Hepatitis is a disorder involving inflammation of the LIVER. Symptoms include loss of appetite, dark urine, fatigue, and sometimes fever. The liver may become enlarged and JAUNDICE may occur, giving the skin a yellow tinge. Hepatitis may be acute or chronic. The acute form can subside after about two months or, rarely, can result in liver failure. Chronic carriers are at risk of lasting liver disease. Hepatitis A, once called infectious hepatitis, is the most common cause of acute hepatitis. Usually transmitted by food and water contaminated by human waste, such infections can reach epidemic proportions in unsanitary regions.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEPATITIS?

The different types of VIRAL hepatitis are: A (formerly called infectious hepatitis), B (serum hepatitis), C (formerly called non-A,non-B hepatitis), D (delta hepatitis), E (a virus transmitted through the feces of an infected     person),     cryptogenic (or nonA, nonB, nonC). G (a virus transmitted through infected     blood products)    More hepatitis viruses are    being discovered, but may    be    less common.

HOW VIRUSES ENTER IN THE BODY?

The hepatitis A and E viruses first enter the gut and begin reproducing. They spread to the liver and multiply in liver cells.
Hepatitis B, C, D, and G enter the bloodstream; when they pass through the liver, they enter liver cells and begin to reproduce. The body attacks the infected cells, which causes the liver to become inflamed.

WHAT IS THE INCUBATION PERIOD?

The incubation period (the amount of time that elapses between infection and the development of symptoms) varies for the different hepatitis viruses. Hepatitis A and E may develop as few as two weeks after exposure, but usually appear after four weeks. For hepatitis B and C it may take up to six months before symptoms develop. (The average incubation period is two to three months for hepatitis B and six to nine weeks for hepatitis C.)

ABOUT HEPATITIS C (HCV)

Hepatitis C (HCV) is a form of hepatitis caused by an RNA virus. The hepatitis C virus was first identified and described in 1987, and in 1990 a hepatitis C antibody test (anti-HCV) became commercially available to help identify individuals exposed to HCV. In mid-1995 the hepatitis C virus was seen for the first time ever by scientists with the aid of an electron microscope. It is a linear single-strand RNA (ribonucleic acid) virus 40-50 nanometers in size. It is covered with a lipid envelope and is encased with glycoprotein peplomers or "spikes".

HOW DOES HEPATITIS-C USUALLY BEGIN?

For a slight majority of patients, the illness begins suddenly as though one had come down with the flu. Except that this "flu" doesn't seem to completely go away. For many other patients, the onset appears gradually over a long period of time. Infants and young children often have no symptoms at all.

Many other symptoms may also be present, however they will typically be different among different patients. These include:
fatigue, low-grade fever, headaches; slight sore throat, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and stiff or aching joints. Many people develop a pain in the right side, over the liver area. The urine may become dark brown, and the feces may be pale. In severe acute infections, some people may develop jaundice in which the skin and whites of the eyes become yellowish.

The degree of severity can differ widely among patients, and will also vary over time for the same patient. Severity can vary between getting unusually fatigued following stressful events, to being totally bedridden and completely disabled.

HOW IS IT TRANSMITTED?

Most people with hepatitis C contracted it either through a blood transfusion or receiving blood products (plasma, etc.) that was contaminated with hepatitis C, or by sharing needles with intravenous drug users that were infected with hepatitis C. Prior to 1990 blood could not be screened for HCV. Thanks to HCV testing with modern sensitive methods, the risk of acquiring hepatitis C from blood transfusion is now less than 1%. The other means of acquiring hepatitis C include health care and laboratory workers that may get stuck with an infected needle or instrument, people receiving medical/dental procedures or people that had tattoos that were performed with poorly sterilized equipment.

HOW HCV IS *NOT* TRANSMITTED ?

1. The Hepatitis C virus is NOT airborne.
2. It is NOT spread by:
a. sneezing and coughing
b. holding hands
c. kissing
d. using the same bathroom
e. eating food prepared by someone with HCV
f. holding a child in your arms
g. swimming in the same pool