Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver.

There are a few different types of hepatitis. They all have different causes.

Some types of hepatitis are caused by viruses. These viruses, although they all affect the liver, are quite different. They are named after letters in the alphabet,: hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, etc.

Other types of hepatitis are caused by alcohol or drugs/medications. These are not related to the types of hepatitis caused by viruses.

Hepatitis A, B and C are different because they are caused by different viruses, are spread (transmitted) in different ways and have different illnesses.

Hepatitis C is a virus (also called HCV) that is carried in the blood. You can only get hepatitis C if blood from an infected person gets into your bloodstream. The risk of getting hepatitis C from sex is extremely low, but there is a small possibility if blood is present. Most people who get hepatitis C do not clear it from their body without treatment.

There is no vaccine for hepatitis C.

Two other common types of hepatitis in Australia are hepatitis A and hepatitis B. These are caused by different viruses to hepatitis C.

Hepatitis A is spread by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. Eg, when you eat food prepared by a person with hepatitis A who has gone to the toilet and not washed their hands. Nearly everyone who is sick with hepatitis A will recover and the virus will go away.

There is a vaccine for hepatitis A.

Hepatitis B is spread when body fluids, such as blood, semen or vaginal fluids, from an infected person enters the bloodstream of another person. This can happen during sex without a condom, injecting drugs unsafely (sharing injecting equipment), or from a mother to her baby. Most adults who get hepatitis B clear the virus from their body which means their blood is not infectious. If children (under the age of 5) get hepatitis B they may continue to have the virus in their blood and could pass it on.

There is a vaccine for hepatitis B.