Characteristics of Hepatitis Viruses
Characteristic | Hepatitis A Virus | Hepatitis B Virus | Hepatitis C Virus | Hepatitis D Virus | Hepatitis E Virus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nucleic acid | RNA | DNA | RNA | * | RNA |
Serologic diagnosis | IgM anti-HAV (acute infection); total anti‑HAV (immunity) | HBsAg (active infection); IgM anti‑HBc (acute infection) | Anti-HCV (screening); HCV RNA (confirmation of active infection) | Anti-HDV; HDV RNA (active infection; requires HBsAg positivity) | IgM Anti-HEV (acute infection); HEV RNA (if available) |
Major transmission | Fecal-oral | Blood | Blood | Needle | Water |
Incubation period (days) | 15–50 | 40–180† | 15–85‡ | 20–50§ | 15–40¶ |
Epidemics | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
Chronicity | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Rare |
Liver cancer | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
* Incomplete RNA; requires presence of hepatitis B virus for replication. † Workowski KA, Bachmann LH, Chan PA, et al. Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2021;70(4):1-187. Published 2021 Jul 23. doi:10.15585/mmwr.rr7004a1 ‡ Maheshwari A, Ray S, Thuluvath PJ. Acute hepatitis C. Lancet. 2008;372(9635):321-332. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61116-2 § Farci P, Niro GA. Clinical features of hepatitis D. Semin Liver Dis. 2012;32(3):228-236. doi:10.1055/s-0032-1323628 ¶ Kamar N, Bendall R, Legrand-Abravanel F, et al. Hepatitis E. Lancet. 2012;379(9835):2477-2488. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61849-7 | |||||
IgM anti-HAV = IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus; HBsAg = hepatitis B surface antigen; HBc = hepatitis B core antigen; Anti-HCV = antibody to hepatitis C virus; anti-HDV = antibody to hepatitis D virus; anti-HEV = antibody to hepatitis E virus. | |||||
