Table 1 Overview of hepatitis viruses capable of causing human liver disease
From: Chronic Viral Hepatitis in Elite Athletes: Approaches to Risk Assessment, Prevention and Management
| Â | Hepatitis A virus | Hepatitis B virus | Hepatitis C virus | Hepatitis D virus | Hepatitis E virus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nature | RNA virus | DNA virus | RNA virus | RNA virus | RNA virus |
Main route of transmission | Faecal-oral route | Percutaneous route | Percutaneous route | Percutaneous route | Faecal-oral route |
Common clinical presentations | Asymptomatic | Asymptomatic | Asymptomatic | New onset/ persistent deranged liver function in HBV + subjects | Asymptomatic |
Self-limiting GI upset | |||||
Self-limiting GI upset | Incidental finding of deranged liver function | Acute icteric illness | |||
Acute icteric illness | |||||
Clinical importance | Acute liver failure | Acute liver failure | Acute icteric illness (for recently acquired HCV) | Rapid progression of liver disease in HBV + subjects | Acute liver failure |
Acute on chronic liver failure | Fulminant hepatitis in pregnant women | ||||
Cirrhosis | Chronic allograft dysfunction for post-liver transplant recipients | ||||
HCC | Cirrhosis | ||||
HCC | |||||
Chronicity | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No except for immunocompromised hosts |
Treatment | Supportive treatment | Available | Available (curative) | Available | Supportive treatment |
Vaccine available | Yes | Yes | No | No | No (except one vaccine licensed for use in China in year 2011; currently being evaluated in clinical trial in USA) |