Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C are liver infections caused by three different viruses. Although each can cause similar symptoms, they are spread in different ways and can affect the liver differently.
Hepatitis A is usually a short-term infection and does not become a long-term infection.
Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C can also begin as short-term infections but in some people, the virus remains in the body and causes chronic, or lifelong, infection. Hepatitis B and C can both be sexually transmitted, whereas A is spread through contaminated food and water.
There are vaccines to prevent Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B; however, there is no vaccine for Hepatitis C, which is why SAFE recommends Hep C testing in our standard 6 test panel.
