Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of jaundice in India and Hepatitis A and E are caused by food or water contamination while Hepatitis B and C are through infected blood contamination, said Dr Sethu Babu, Senior Consultant Medical Gastroenterologist, KIMS Hospitals, Hyderabad on 28th July.

In viral hepatitis , the liver is inflamed and can result in mild to severe liver disease and even can cause serious liver failure needing liver transplantation, Dr Babu said in a release on the occasion of ‘World Hepatitis Day’. Every year July 28 is being celebrated as world hepatitis day to rededicate all our efforts to eradicate all forms of viral hepatitis and can be controlled to near total eradication by year 2030.

The commonest cause of viral hepatitis is by specific viruses often referred to Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis E, he said Hepatitis A and E are caused by food or water contamination and known to occur as small to large epidemics involving the community while Hepatitis B and C are through infected blood contamination.

Hepatitis A in India is seen predominantly in children and starts as clinical condition with fever and weakness and presents as jaundice, the Gastroenterologist said Jaundice develops in most of the cases. In the classic picture of acute hepatitis is marked by the elevated aminotransferase levels and improvement can be marked with the decrease in levels.

Less than 1 per cent of cases result in fulminant hepatic failure. Hepatitis C similar to Hepatitis B is transmitted as blood borne infection and leads to chronic liver disease and liver cancer. Currently with the advent of highly active antiviral drugs hepatitis C could be treated with oral drugs and the disease could be eradicated to a great extent.

There is no vaccine yet for prevention of hepatitis C. With the new guidelines of screening of blood donors preoperative screening and antenatal screening has greatly helped both in detection ,prevention and management of hepatitis B and hepatitis C, he said. ‘HAV infection does not persist and does not lead to chronic hepatitis’, he said as sanitation improved, the overall prevalence of ‘hepatitis A’ in our country and in other parts of the developed world has decreased in the community population.