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Hepatitis A is a virus that replicates itself in the liver. It is usually spread by contaminated food and water, or through contact with an infected person. The symptoms include fatigue, jaundice, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, discomfort in your abdomen, and light-colored stools. Most people who are infected recover completely without any liver damage. In rare cases, infection can result in liver failure and liver transplantation or death. If you have a chronic liver disease, then you have a lighter risk of not recovering from hepatitis A infection.
Hepatitis B is another virus that replicates itself in the liver cells. It is usually spread through infected blood, semen, or other bodily fluids. The virus is considered carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). The symptoms can range from no symptoms at all to nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, mild fever, jaundice, body aches, and liver failure. Most people with chronic hepatitis B infection don't have any symptoms until they develop advanced serious liver disease (cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer).
Hepatitis C is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease. About 3.2 million Americans have hepatitis C. The virus infects the liver, causing inflammation. Over years, it causes damage that may ultimately lead to cirrhosis. Most people chronically infected don't have any symptoms until they develop cirrhosis and liver failure, so it is important to get screened.
Source:
Michelle Lai & Asha R. Kasaraneni. The Liver Healing Diet (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2015). ISBN 13: 978-1-61243-444-5.
