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Hepatitis

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Viruses and Man: A History of Interactions

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Abstract

There are many viruses that cause hepatitis. In this chapter we discuss three of them: hepatitis A (jaundice), hepatitis B (serum hepatitis), and hepatitis C. Hepatitis A is an acute infection, whereas hepatitis B and C are blood-borne diseases and cause chronic infections and eventually cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Outbreaks of hepatitis A were once very common in most of the world, since it was spread by unsanitary conditions Hepatitis A disrupted military campaigns throughout the ages. A vaccine is now available, and hepatitis A has almost disappeared from the developed world. A recombinant vaccine has also been developed against hepatitis B, resulting in a decline in cases. A vaccine is not yet available for hepatitis C, although there is active research in this area. Until recently Hepatitis C was routinely treated with a combination of interferon and ribavirin, which had severe side effects and low cure rates. This treatment is being replaced by nucleotides/nucleosides analogues that inhibit viral protein processing and replication enzymes. The large numbers of hepatitis B cases in the world are due to sexual transmission and mother-to-child transfer. The sharing of needles when using recreational drugs, blood transfusions, and unsanitary tattoo parlors—all these spread hepatitis C. All three viruses infect millions of people worldwide.

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  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Milton W. Taylor

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  1. Milton W. Taylor
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Correspondence to Milton W. Taylor .

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Taylor, M.W. (2014). Hepatitis. In: Viruses and Man: A History of Interactions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07758-1_13

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