Difference between “Hepatitis A” and “Hepatitis B” – Explained!
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Expert Answers: What Are the Differences Between Hepatitis A, B, and C?
By Editorial Team · June 8, 2015
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Most people have heard of Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C, but the differences between types can be confusing. Several of our community members have asked us to explain, so here is what our expert, Sue Simon, had to say:
Sue breaks down the differences

Hepatitis A, B and C are all caused by viruses. However, there are many differences between these viral infections. They do share some of the same risk factors as well as some symptoms. But they differ in many important ways.
Hepatitis A
The virus may cause a mild illness with few symptoms or it may cause a person to feel seriously ill. Symptoms often include nausea, pain in upper right quadrant of the abdomen, fever, joint pain, loss of appetite and jaundice. Some people feel better after a very short illness and others may stay extremely ill for many weeks.
Traveling in areas where hepatitis A is common, living with an infected person, injecting illicit drugs, having oral/anal contact with another person, working in crowded unsanitary conditions and even working in a child care facility puts a person at a high risk of acquiring hepatitis A. The virus is transmitted mainly through the fecal oral route. Patients may become infected through eating food handled by an infected person; eating shellfish from waters that contain raw sewage; having sex with an infected patient and just being in close contact with a person suffering from hepatitis A.
Hepatitis A is self-limiting which means a patient becomes ill, and then he gets over it. There is no chronic stage. Treatment is supportive and includes rest, proper nutrition and protection of the liver from alcohol and other substances that are known to cause liver damage. There are no lasting effects and once infected, the antibodies protect people from another hepatitis A infection down the road. The patient is immune. There is a vaccine that protects from hepatitis A virus.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a serious viral infection. When an infant becomes ill with hepatitis B, there is a 90% chance he will become chronic. Young children go on to develop chronic hepatitis B about 50% of the time. When the patient acquires the virus in adulthood, 90% – 95% get over the virus fully in the acute stage, and do not go on to the chronic stage. If you believe you were exposed, contact a physician immediately as there are preventative treatments that cut down the risk of getting the virus.
Symptoms are the same as those of hepatitis A. Jaundice, fever, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, joint pain, nausea and vomiting, and weakness and fatigue are common. Some of the more common ways to acquire hepatitis B are through sex with an infected person where sexual body fluids can enter your body, use of IV drugs and sharing needles, being born to a hepatitis B positive mother, men who have sex with men, travel to an area such as Africa, Asia or Eastern Europe, and being stuck with a needle in a healthcare setting. Hepatitis B is considered a sexually transmitted infection.
Chronic hepatitis B may lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and/or liver failure. It may also lead to kidney disease as well as anemia. There are treatments for hepatitis B but there is no cure. A liver transplant may be required for the patient to live. There is a preventative vaccine for hepatitis B.
hope this would help you
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The causative agent of Amoebic dysentery is protozoan Entamoeba Histolytica. This organism enters our body through contaminated water and food.
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