Learn About Hepatitis: Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention

Treatment

According to the National Institutes of Health, most acute hepatitis infections caused by the hepatitis A, B, C, and E viruses will heal on their own after a few weeks or months. Severe cases of acute hepatitis B, on the other hand, can be treated with antiviral medications like lamivudine (trade name Epivir).

Chronic hepatitis B and C infections that do not resolve on their own after a few months may be treated with antiviral drugs such as peginterferon injections or oral antivirals such as lamivudine for hepatitis B or ribavirin (brand names Copegus, Rebetol, Ribasphere) for hepatitis C.

According to the National Institutes of Health, ribavirin must be used with peginterferon in order to be a successful treatment for hepatitis C. If the liver is significantly damaged, liver transplantation may be required.

Prevention

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, routine childhood hepatitis A vaccination, which was implemented in many parts of the United States in the 1990s, reduced new cases of Hepatitis A by 95 percent between 1995 (12 cases per 100,000 people) and 2010 (less than 1 case per 100,000 people).

According to the WHO, Hepatitis B vaccination is also available and is 95% effective in avoiding viral infections and their chronic sequelae. Despite the lack of a vaccine for hepatitis D, the disease can be avoided by vaccination against hepatitis B.

Babies delivered to hepatitis B-infected mothers should be given hepatitis B immune globulin and the hepatitis B vaccine within 12 hours of birth to help avoid infection, according to the National Institutes of Health.