Hepatitis is a health condition that causes inflammation in the liver. It is a highly contagious condition that could lead to serious health problems like liver cancer. This inflammatory condition can have a huge impact on the quality of life and overall health. It adversely affects the major functionalities of the liver. In a few cases, it could lead to chronic illness or life-threatening diseases.

The hepatitis virus may spread from exposure to contaminated bodily fluids, water, food or organ transplants, sexual contact, etc. In general, there are five common types of hepatitis. The severity of the symptoms and the duration of the recovery period for all these types of hepatitis tend to vary from each other. Mentioned below are the most common types of hepatitis that you should know about.

Hepatitis A
Preventable by a vaccine, hepatitis A is one of the most common types of hepatitis. It is also referred to as HAV. Hepatitis A is a highly contagious infection that occurs in the liver. The severity of the illness tends to vary from person to person, depending on their overall health and the seriousness of the infection. In the majority of cases, this infection lasts for a couple of weeks before the person makes a full recovery.

Hepatitis B
The second on the list of the common types of hepatitis is hepatitis B. In terms of severity, hepatitis B causes a more dangerous infection than hepatitis A. Also referred to as HBV, hepatitis B is a contagious and serious liver infection. This infection occurs when a person gets exposed to infected body fluids like blood. This type of liver infection is also preventable by vaccine.

Hepatitis C
Unlike the aforementioned common types of hepatitis, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The illness is caused by the HCV virus that causes an infection that can either be acute or chronic. Highly contagious, this type of hepatitis affects a person when he or she gets exposed to bodily fluids like blood. Additionally, it can spread through organ transplants or sexual contact.

Hepatitis D
Caused by the hepatitis delta virus, hepatitis D is among the most common types of hepatitis. This infection can cause severe and long-term damage to the liver’s health. Unlike the above-mentioned forms of hepatitis, hepatitis D could lead to serious health problems like scarring of the liver or liver cancer. Highly dangerous and contagious, this type of hepatitis only affects individuals who are already suffering from hepatitis B.

Hepatitis E
Lastly, hepatitis E is another common form of hepatitis. Though there are treatment methods available for this liver disease, it cannot be cured. Generally, people suffering from this disease may experience relief within a few months. The hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes inflammation in the liver and leads to a host of painful and discomforting symptoms. This type of hepatitis is contagious, and it spreads when someone comes in contact with contaminated food items or water.