Information About Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, which is the organ responsible
for filtering the blood, processing nutrients, and battling infections.
Some actions and lifestyle choices, including abuse of alcohol, can cause
hepatitis. In the United States however, most cases of hepatitis are caused
by a virus. There are multiple forms of viral hepatitis that occur nationwide,
including Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.
Everyone should be vaccinated against Hepatitis B. There are currently
no vaccinations available to protect against Hepatitis C. Ask your internist
at Washington Township Medical Foundation in Fremont if you have questions
about hepatitis, as well as risk factors and other information.
There are at least 850,000 people—and perhaps as many as 2.2 million—who
have Hepatitis B. However, approximately 2 in 3 people who have this condition
do not know that they are infected. It is a major cause of liver cancer.
Hepatitis B is typically spread through contact with the body fluids of
an infected person.
Hepatitis C is more common than Hepatitis B, with up to 3.9 million people
estimated to be living with the condition, half of whom do not know they
are infected. Hepatitis C can be spread by contact with the blood of an
It is the most common cause of both:
- Liver cancer
- Liver transplants