You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. We link primary sources - including studies, scientific references, and statistics - within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. In rare cases, severe hepatitis A can lead to liver failure, which may result in the need for a liver transplant. However, hepatitis A does not cause chronic liver damage in most people. They have similar symptoms but different potential complications and modes of transmission. Risk of liver damageĪccording to the CDC, 15–25% of people with chronic hepatitis B develop liver damage, liver failure, or liver cancer. Differences Prevention FAQ Summary Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are viral liver infections. People who have had hepatitis A do not have an increased risk of liver cancer. Hepatitis B can increase a person’s chances of developing liver cancer and is a leading cause of liver cancer. Once a person recovers, they cannot contract it again. Hepatitis A is an acute infection that lasts a few weeks to a few months. Learn more about the hepatitis B incubation period. People often do not know they have the infection. Hepatitis B can be a chronic condition that lasts for the rest of a person’s life. Learn more about hepatitis B and immunity. Reactivation can result from a sudden rise or reappearance of hepatitis B DNA in a person’s body. The hepatitis B virus, however, can reactivate and become chronic in people who have previously recovered from it. This is because people can develop antibodies to the hepatitis A virus. Once a person has had a hepatitis A infection and recovered, they cannot contract it again. For example, transmission can occur if people do not wash their hands after using the toilet and before preparing food. In the United States, hepatitis A often results from contact with food or feces containing the virus. Hepatitis A typically spreads through the fecal-oral route, such as when a person consumes food or water containing the virus or has sexual contact with someone who has the virus. Learn more about hepatitis B carriers and transmission. It can spread through sexual contact, sharing needles or other instruments that can puncture the skin, or other activities that spread saliva or other fluids between people. Acute infection may cause nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue, poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, low-grade fever, jaundice, and dark urine and clinical signs, such as hepatomegaly.
Hepatitis B spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as vaginal secretions, blood, semen, and saliva. Though hepatitis A and hepatitis B both affect the liver, they have several differences.
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