Infection of the liver is known as Hepatitis. 

Hepatitis is caused by three different viruses. Each of the hepatitis viruses is different, but they all share a target: the liver. The liver performs more than 500 vital functions in your body. Many of the liver’s functions involve cleansing blood, fighting infection, and storing energy. A hepatitis virus threatens the liver’s ability to function.

The main hepatitis viruses fall into five different types: A, B, C, D, and E. The most common types are A, B and C. Hepatitis B and C present more serious risks to the patient. Although Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C can cause similar symptoms, they have different modes of transmission and can affect the liver differently. Hepatitis A appears only as an acute or newly occurring infection and does not become chronic. Hepatitis B & C are viral infections that attack the liver and can cause both acute and chronic diseases. It is potentially life-threatening and can cause liver cancer or liver cirrhosis

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Fast facts:

• The virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.
• An estimated 240 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B (defined as hepatitis B surface antigen-positive for at least 6 months).
• Approximately 780 000 persons die each year from hepatitis B infection.
• Hepatitis B is an important occupational hazard for health workers.
• However, it can be prevented by the currently available safe and effective vaccine.

Prevention of Hepatitis:

A vaccine against hepatitis B has been available since 1982. The vaccine is 95% effective in preventing infection and the development of chronic disease and liver cancer due to hepatitis B.

Transmission

Hepatitis B is more infectious than HIV. The hepatitis B virus can survive outside the body for at least 7 days. During this time, the virus can still cause infection if it enters the body of a person who is not protected by the vaccine.
Hepatitis B is spread by percutaneous or mucosal exposure to infected blood and various body fluids, as well as through saliva, menstrual, vaginal, and seminal fluids.

You may get hepatitis B if you:

Have sex with an infected person without using a condom.
Share needles (used for injecting drugs) with an infected person.
Get a tattoo or piercing with tools that weren’t sterilized.
Share personal items like razors or toothbrushes with an infected person

Symptoms

Feeling very tired.
Mild fever.
Headache.
Not wanting to eat.
Feeling sick to your stomach or vomiting.
Belly pain.
Diarrhoea or constipation.
Muscle aches and joint pain.
Skin rash.
Yellowish eyes and skin (jaundice).
Dark urine
Other possible symptoms are bowel movements that appear gray in color
Jaundice usually appears only after other symptoms have started to go away.

A small subset of persons with acute hepatitis can develop acute liver failure which can lead to death. In some people, the hepatitis B virus can also cause a chronic liver infection that can later develop into cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer.

Ascites (the accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, causing abdominal swelling), caused by liver cirrhosis

More than 90% of healthy adults who are infected with the hepatitis B virus will recover naturally from the virus within the first year. Children less than 6 years of age who become infected with the hepatitis B virus are the most likely to develop chronic infections.

Diagnosis:

A number of blood tests are available to diagnose and monitor people with hepatitis B. They can be used to distinguish between acute and chronic infections.

Who is at risk for chronic disease?

The likelihood that infection with the virus becomes chronic depends upon the age at which a person becomes infected. Children less than 6 years of age who become infected with the hepatitis B virus are the most likely to develop chronic infections:
80–90% of infants infected during the first year of life develop chronic infections;
30–50% of children infected before the age of 6 years develop chronic infections.

In adults:

<5% of otherwise healthy persons who are infected as adults will develop chronic infection;
20–30% of adults who are chronically infected will develop cirrhosis and/or liver cancer.