Hepatitis C I. What every physician needs to know. Hepatitis C virus (HCV), previously called “non-A, non-B hepatitis” is a single stranded RNA virus of the Flaviviradae family that was first described in 1989. HCV is only known to infect humans and chimps, though it can also be grown in cell culture (replicon system). Variations…
Hepatitis B I. What every physician needs to know. Hepatitis B (HBV) infection is a complex disease process, causing both acute and chronic illness with varying degrees of severity among infected patients. Moreover, the clinical characteristics of HBV infection can change over time within the same individual over a period of years. The virus itself…
Hepatitis A I. What every physician needs to know. The hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a hepatotropic 27 nm, non-enveloped, positive-stranded RNA virus of Picornaviridae family, closely related to enterovirus and erbovirus genera. Since humans are the only known reservoir for HAV, theoretically HAV could be eradicated with widespread immunization and prevention of fecal contamination…
