Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
Hepatitis is a disease characterized by inflammation of the liver. "Hepatitis" is a general term that refers to any inflammation of the liver. Many illnesses and conditions that cause inflammation of the liver. In order to answer the question of whether or not hepatitis is contagious, these illnesses will be broken into two categories; infectious and noninfectious hepatitis.
Infectious causes of hepatitis usually are, but not always, contagious. For example, hepatitis caused by viruses usually is contagious, although many types of hepatitis are transferred mainly from person to person by blood-to-blood transfer, for example, individual sharing needles, acupuncture, sexual contact, and organ transplantation.
Some infectious parasites (such as Plasmodium spp, Schistosoma spp) cause hepatitis in individuals, but are not contagious person to person.
Most noninfectious causes of hepatitis are not contagious. Hepatitis caused by alcohol poisoning, medications, or toxins or poisons are not transmitted from person to person.
Therefore, the answer to the question "is hepatitis contagious?" depends upon the type of hepatitis.
Symptoms of hepatitis vary somewhat depending on the type of hepatitis. Most types of infectious hepatitis that are contagious may have slowly developing symptoms, for example:
In general, the incubation period from time of initial viral infection to development of symptoms ranges widely from about two weeks to six months.
Symptoms of hepatitis that develop from noncontagious causes (such as alcoholic hepatitis) may have very similar symptoms described above. Noncontagious hepatitis also may cause increased abdominal size and fluid in the abdomen. The time to develop symptoms may take months to years, but may develop quickly (days) in some toxin-induced hepatitis. A health-care professional can order tests to help determine the underlying cause of a person's hepatitis symptoms.
Serious or severe symptoms of hepatitis (for all types) may include:
Most people with hepatitis C don't have any symptoms when they acquire the hepatitis C virus infection, however, about 1/4th of those infected will have symptoms like
Infectious causes of hepatitis that are contagious usually are spread person-to-person by direct contact with another person's blood that is infected. The classic example for infectious hepatitis spread is viral hepatitis C. Individuals that share needles are at high risk for developing viral hepatitis. Moreover, individuals that have been exposed to surgical or other instruments (for example, tattoo needles) can spread the infection to others. Infectious hepatitis that is contagious also may be spread by sexual contact. Other types of viral hepatitis like hepatitis A are spread by fecal/oral contamination, and contaminated food, water, or items touched by infected individuals.
Noncontagious hepatitis due to specific infectious causes (such as from parasites) and chemical induced hepatitis (alcohol, medications) are not spread person-to-person. A health-care professional can help determine the underlying cause of a person's symptoms.
Treatments for contagious hepatitis types vary according to the underlying cause and type of hepatitis. Most individuals are contagious about one to two weeks before symptoms appear. Depending upon the type of hepatitis, they can remain contagious for an extended length of time. For example, people with hepatitis A are contagious for at least two weeks after the onset of symptoms, but for hepatitis C and other types of hepatitis, individuals may not be cured of hepatitis and are contagious unless specific treatments occur.
In general, it takes about six months for the liver to recover from "cured" hepatitis A in most individuals. With other hepatitis types, patients may not be cured (or even know they have the disease) for many years.
With noncontagious hepatitis, again the "cure" is dependent upon treatment of the underlying cause. If the underlying cause is "cured," the liver function may or may not improve.
Fortunately, for some types of hepatitis (for example, hepatitis A), there are preventative treatments. Consequently, if a person suspects that they may have been recently exposed to any type of infectious hepatitis, they should contact their health-care professional quickly to prevent liver damage.
If a person has the following symptoms for days, they should seek medical care urgently.
If a person known to have infectious hepatitis develops severe nausea and vomiting with abdominal pain and/or mental status changes, they should be evaluated in an Emergency Department.
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is an
inherited disorder caused by mutations
in the SERPINA1 gene. People with the condition are at risk for developing
serious lung and liver disease. Symptoms and signs of lung disease caused by
this condition include:
The earliest symptoms and signs of lung disease usually develop between 20
and 50 years of age, and are
Other symptoms and signs of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency are:
Lung disease: People with this condition often develop emphysema, with
symptoms of a hacking cough, barrel-shaped chest, and difficulty breathing. If
you have this condition and smoke or are exposed to tobacco smoke, it
accelerates the appearance of emphysema symptoms and lung damage.
Liver disease: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency also cause liver disease
in some people with the condition, that include liver cancer, cirrhosis of the
liver, an abnormally large liver (hepatomegaly), liver failure, and hepatitis. Liver damage from alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency causes
symptom of a swollen abdomen, swollen legs or feet, and jaundice.
Treatment of AATD depends upon the severity of symptoms. FDA approved drug for
AATD is an orphan product called alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor (human), sold
under the brand name "Prolastin."
Symptoms include yellowing of the skin (jaundice), itching, and fatigue.
The prognosis is good for some people with cirrhosis of the liver, and the survival can be up to 12 years; however the life expectancy is about 6 months to 2 years for people with severe cirrhosis with major complications.
Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are the two most commnon viruses that infect the liver. Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B can be prevented and treated with immunizations (vaccinations) such as Havrix, Vaqta, Twinrix, Comvax, Pediarix, and hepatitis b immune globulin (HBIG).
Jaundice (hyperbilirubinemia) in adults may be caused by a variety of medical diseases or conditions. Some cases of jaundice can be managed at home with a doctor's supervision, while other causes of jaundice may be life-threatening. Symptoms of jaundice are:
Treatment of jaundice is focused on the disease or condition that is causing jaundice.
Sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, are infections that are transmitted during any type of sexual exposure, including intercourse (vaginal or anal), oral sex, and the sharing of sexual devices, such as vibrators. Women can contract all of the STDs, but may have no symptoms, or have different symptoms than men do. Common STDs in women are:
Treatment for STDs depends upon the type.
Hepatitis is most often viral, due to infection with one of the hepatitis viruses (A, B, C, D, E, F (not confirmed), and G) or another virus (such as those that cause infectious mononucleosis, cytomegalovirus disease). The main nonviral causes of hepatitis are alcohol and drugs. Many patients infected with hepatitis A, B, and C have few or no symptoms of illness. For those who do develop symptoms of viral hepatitis, the most common are flu- like symptoms including: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fever, weakness, tiredness, and aching in the abdomen. Treatment of viral hepatitis is dependant on the type of hepatitis.
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