Editing Hepatitis (section)

==== Viral hepatitis ====
{{Main|Viral hepatitis}}
[[Viral hepatitis]] is the most common type of hepatitis worldwide, especially in Asia and Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/topics/hepatitis/en/|title=Hepatitis|publisher=World Health Organization|access-date=25 November 2013|author=World Health Organization|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202223841/http://www.who.int/topics/hepatitis/en/|archive-date=2 December 2013}}</ref> Viral hepatitis is caused by five different viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E).<ref name="Harrison's Principles, chapter 360 (Acute Viral)" /> [[Hepatitis A]] and [[hepatitis E]] behave similarly: they are both transmitted by the [[fecal–oral route]], are more common in developing countries, and are self-limiting illnesses that do not lead to chronic hepatitis.<ref name="Harrison's Principles, chapter 360 (Acute Viral)" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/afaq.htm|title=Hepatitis A Questions and Answers for the Public {{!}} Division of Viral Hepatitis {{!}} CDC|website=www.cdc.gov|access-date=2016-03-14|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312094721/http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/afaq.htm|archive-date=2016-03-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs280/en/|title=Hepatitis E|website=World Health Organization|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-03-14|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312074914/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs280/en/|archive-date=2016-03-12}}</ref>

[[Hepatitis B]], [[hepatitis C]], and [[hepatitis D]] are transmitted when blood or [[mucous membrane]]s are exposed to infected blood and body fluids, such as semen and vaginal secretions.<ref name="Harrison's Principles, chapter 360 (Acute Viral)" /> Viral particles have also been found in saliva and breastmilk. Kissing, sharing utensils, and breastfeeding do not lead to transmission unless these fluids are introduced into open sores or cuts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/PDFs/HepBWhenSomeoneClose.pdf|title=When Someone Close to You Has Hepatitis|last=Centers for Disease Control & Prevention|date=June 2010|access-date=March 14, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306084204/http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/PDFs/HepBWhenSomeoneClose.pdf|archive-date=March 6, 2016}}</ref> Many families who do not have safe drinking water or live in unhygienic homes have contracted hepatitis because saliva and blood droplets are often carried through the water and blood-borne illnesses spread quickly in unsanitary settings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hepatitis A |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-a |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}</ref>

Hepatitis B and C can present either acutely or chronically.<ref name="Harrison's Principles, chapter 360 (Acute Viral)" /> Hepatitis D is a defective virus that requires hepatitis B to replicate and is only found with hepatitis B co-infection.<ref name="Harrison's Principles, chapter 360 (Acute Viral)" /> In adults, hepatitis B infection is most commonly self-limiting, with less than 5% progressing to chronic state, and 20 to 30% of those chronically infected developing cirrhosis or liver cancer.<ref name="WHO Hepatitis B" /> Infection in infants and children frequently leads to chronic infection.<ref name="WHO Hepatitis B" />

Unlike hepatitis B, most cases of hepatitis C lead to chronic infection.<ref name="CDC FAQ on Hepatitis C">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/cfaq.htm|title=Hepatitis C FAQs for the Public {{!}} Division of Viral Hepatitis {{!}} CDC|website=www.cdc.gov|access-date=2016-03-14|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315151117/http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/cfaq.htm|archive-date=2016-03-15}}</ref> Hepatitis C is the second most common cause of cirrhosis in the US (second to alcoholic hepatitis).<ref name="Friedman 55e">{{Cite book|title=Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2016 55e|last=Friedman|first=Lawrence S.|publisher=McGraw Hill|year=2015|isbn=978-0071845090|editor-last=Papadakis, M |editor2=McPhee, SJ |editor3=Rabow, MW|chapter=Chapter 16: Liver, Biliary Tract, & Pancreas Disorders}}</ref> In the 1970s and 1980s, blood transfusions were a major factor in spreading hepatitis C virus.<ref name="CDC FAQ on Hepatitis C" /> Since widespread screening of blood products for hepatitis C began in 1992, the risk of acquiring hepatitis C from a blood transfusion has decreased from approximately 10% in the 1970s to 1 in 2 million currently.<ref name="Harrison's Principles, chapter 360 (Acute Viral)" />