• Cirrhosis
• Viral Hepatitis
• Portal Hypertension
• Liver Tumors
• Endocrine Tumors
• Liver Transplant
• Mediastinal Lesions/Masses
• Bile Duct Cancer
• Bile Duct Disorders (Noncancerous)
• Gallstones
• Obstructive Jaundice
• Ampullary Lesions and Cancers

Hepatitis is a disease that affects the liver, and may cause lifelong infection such as cirrhosis (scarring and dysfunction of the liver), liver cancer, liver failure and death.

Hepatitis B, a type of viral hepatitis, is a blood-borne microorganism, transmitted by exposure to the hepatitis B virus through infectious body fluids. About 1.4 million Americans have chronic hepatitis B infection, and about 350 million individuals worldwide have this disease.

Hepatitis C (once called non-A, non-B hepatitis) is a liver disease caused by a recently identified blood-borne virus discovered in 1989. This strain of acute viral hepatitis causes approximately 20,000 new infections in the U.S. each year.

Transmission of hepatitis B and hepatitis C occurs primarily from contact with infected blood, but can also occur from sexual contact or from an infected mother to her baby.

For more information on hepatitis B and hepatitis C including symptoms and risk factors, visit our Health Library.

Diagnosis

A blood test can determine whether patients are infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Blood tests detect certain antigens and antibodies present in a patient's blood. These antigens and antibodies can reveal if the virus is present and whether an individual is acutely or chronically infected.

A liver biopsy may also be performed, removing tissue or cells for examination.

Treatment

While there is no treatment for acute hepatitis B infection, chronic infection can be treated with antiviral drugs. Individuals with chronic hepatitis B infection need to be assessed regularly to determine whether the disease is arrested or progressing, and to determine whether the liver is damaged.

There is no vaccine currently available to prevent hepatitis C.

Cutting-edge research on hepatitis B and hepatitis C is currently being conducted at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has one of the nation's most extensive clinical trial programs to advance the treatment and management of viral hepatitis, including trials that have defined the current standard of treatment of ribavirin and pegylated interferon.