LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Hepatitis: Acute Hepatitis
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Hepatitis E never becomes a chronic illness, but on rare occasions the acute illness damages and destroys so many liver cells that the liver can no longer function. This is called fulminant liver failure, and may end in death. The great majority of patients who recover from acute infection do not continue to carry HEV and cannot pass the infection on to others.
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Hepatitis A, or HAV, is spread through oral contact with infected fecal matter. Hepatitis A often causes an acute illness... it is also possible for Hepatitis A to be asymptomatic (without symptoms). Hepatitis A can also be transmitted person-to-person via contact or from contaminated food or water.
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Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver that is caused by the hepatitis C virus. The disease occurs in acute and chronic forms; symptoms can range from mild (or even no symptoms) to severe. There are conventional medical treatments available for hepatitis C, but some patients ... try complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
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Serum hepatitis is usually first diagnosed from the clinical symptoms. Liver enzymes are ... detected in the bloodstream during the symptomatic phase. Much further information can be obtained from serology and the presence of HBV antigens. Thus, an acute infection can be distinguished from a chronic infection by the presence of antibodies (IgM) against HBcAg. Tests that detect HBsAg and HBcAg and antibodies against HBcAg, HBsAg and HBeAg (the hepatitis B panel) are used in diagnosis. Because of the large amounts of HBsAg that are not associated with infectious virus, the presence of HBeAg is the best marker for infectious virus. As shown in figure 10, detectable anti-HBsAg antibodies do not rise until about eight months after infection while the antigen, HBsAg, is detectable much earlier and then subsides.
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During the years 1984-1993, annual reported cases of acute hepatitis ranged from 43,012-64,075. In 1994, 44,227 cases of infectious hepatitis were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hepatitis A accounted for 61% of those cases and hepatitis B for 28% of the reported cases. These numbers grossly underestimate the actual number of cases of infectious hepatitis in the United States because the diagnosis is often missed and because many cases are never reported. The CDC estimates a more accurate number to be 500,000-750,000 new cases per year.
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Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. Chronic hepatitis B is a long-term infection of the liver that can sometimes develop after a bout of acute, or short term, hepatitis B.
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Acute Hepatitis