Is Hepatitis Contagious?

Hepatitis is a disease characterized by inflammation of the liver. "Hepatitis" is a general term that refers to any liver inflammation.

Many illnesses and conditions cause inflammation of the liver. To answer whether or not hepatitis is contagious, these illnesses will be broken into two categories:

• Infectious hepatitis
• Noninfectious hepatitis

Infectious causes of hepatitis usually are, but not always, contagious. For example, hepatitis caused by viruses usually is contagious. However, 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 and Schistosoma spp) cause hepatitis in individuals but are not contagious from person to person.

Most noninfectious causes of hepatitis are not contagious. Hepatitis caused by alcohol poisoning, medications, toxins, or poisons is not transmitted from person to person.

Therefore, the answer to the question "Is hepatitis contagious?" depends upon the type of hepatitis.

In general, the incubation period from initial viral infection to the development of symptoms ranges widely from about two weeks to six months.

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:

• Abdominal discomfort
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue
• Jaundice

Symptoms of hepatitis that develop from noncontagious causes (such as alcoholic hepatitis) may have 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 healthcare professional can order tests to help determine the underlying cause of a person's hepatitis symptoms.

Severe symptoms of hepatitis (for all types) may include:

• Confusion
• Increased bruising or bleeding
• Coma
• Death

• Infectious causes of hepatitis that are contagious usually are spread person-to-person by direct contact with another person's blood that is infected.
• A classic example of 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 healthcare 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 healthcare professional quickly to prevent liver damage.

If a person has the following symptoms for days, they should seek medical care urgently.

• nausea and vomiting,
• yellowish color to the skin and/or the white area of the eyes (jaundice),
• dark urine and/or
• abdominal pain.

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.