Hepatitis means 'liver inflammation'. It is caused by a virus and around half of all acute cases of hepatitis are due to a viral infection. There are a total of seven hepatitis viruses, from A to G, but the most common are the hepatitis A and B viruses.
Hepatitis A, B and C will be covered in this section.
Colour-enhanced electron micrograph showing the hepatitis B virus.
Wellome Photo Library.
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World Health Organisation. Hepatitis A. WHO; 2014
World Health Organisation. Hepatitis B. WHO; 2015.
World Health Organisation. Hepatitis C. WHO; 2014.
Goldberg D, Mcintyre PG, Smith R, Appleyard K, Dunlop J, Taylor A et al. Hepatitis C virus among high and low risk pregnant women in Dundee: unlinked anonymous testing. BJOG 2001;108:365–70.
Newell M-L, Thorne C, Pembrey L, Nicoll A, Goldberg D. Antenatal screening for hepatitis B infection and syphilis in the UK. BJOG 1999;106:66–71.
Ward C, Tudor-Williams G, Cotzias T, Hargreaves S, Regan L, Foster GR. Prevalence of hepatitis C among pregnant women attending an inner London obstetric department: uptake and acceptability of named antenatal testing. Gut 2004;47:277–280.
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McMenamin MB, Jackson AD, Lambert J, Hall W, Butler K, Coulter-Smith S et al. Obstetric management of hepatitis C-positive mothers: analysis of vertical transmission in 559 mother-infant pairs. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2008;199:315.e1-315.e5 [Abstract].
