Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B - This type of hepatitis spreads mainly through contaminated blood and blood products, sexual contact, and contaminated intravenous needles. Hepatitis B can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure, and death.

Acute hepatitis is quite common in the US: 20 to 30 cases reported per 100,000 people each year.

Causes:
Common causes of acute hepatitis may include:

• infection with a virus (viral hepatitis A, B, C, D, or E)
• overdose of drugs (such as acetaminophen)
• chemical exposure (such as dry cleaning chemicals)

Chronic hepatitis:

Some people do not recover fully from acute hepatitis and develop chronic hepatitis, as the liver continues to sustain more damage and inflammation. Hepatitis is considered chronic if symptoms persist longer than six months. Chronic hepatitis can last years.

Different forms of:

alcohol-induced chronic hepatitis - continued damage throughout the liver from heavy alcohol consumption.chronic active hepatitis - an aggressive inflammation and destroyer of liver cells, which usually leads to cirrhosis.chronic persistent hepatitis - a milder inflammation of the liver, which usually does not lead to cirrhosis.

tags:hepatitis,chronic,alcohol,