What Is Infectious Hepatitis?
The liver plays many important roles in the body. It filters out toxins * and other harmful substances from the blood, stores vitamins and nutrients, regulates cholesterol * production, and helps in the production of many other substances the body needs to function normally. Long-term drug or alcohol abuse, exposure to harmful chemicals or other toxins, various infections, trauma * , and certain medications all can damage the liver and lead to hepatitis. Viruses usually cause infectious hepatitis, although other organisms, such as bacteria or parasites, sometimes can be the culprit as well. Several different viruses can bring about acute * hepatitis, including at least five known hepatitis viruses (A through E). Among these viruses, hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) cause the most serious disease. Most of the time, people recover fully from viral hepatitis. But in some people HBV and HCV cause chronic * hepatitis, in which the infection remains in the body and the liver does not recover co
