Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, an important organ that filters blood, fights infections and metabolizes carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Under the broad umbrella of viral hepatitides are five separate, unique types: A, B, C, D and E, with the three most common being A, B and C.

Below describes the differences and treatments of the types:

A foodborne illness, Hepatitis A is an acute (meaning, short-lasting) infection caused by contaminated food or water. You’ll see outbreaks of Hepatitis A throughout the world—San Diego experienced one that resulted in 592 cases and 20 deaths in early 2017.

Treatment: According to Naveen Gara, MD, a Palomar UC San Diego Health gastroenterologist, you typically don’t need treatment. Hepatitis A can make you acutely sick and cause jaundice (a health condition with yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) in some patients but the majority of people recover with no lasting liver damage.

A chronic hepatitis with a greater disease burden, Hepatitis B can be a lifelong infection. “Hepatitis B is more common in certain parts of the world,” says Dr. Gara. “This includes Asia and pockets of Africa and South America, but it is less common in the U.S.” In this country, infections are more likely to be found in immigrant populations from high-prevalent countries.

The Hepatitis B disease phenotype is variable as you’ll have inactive carriers or active ones; it’s usually acquired from the mother to the child, and then it develops its own lifecycle throughout the course of infection.

Treatment: Effective treatment is available; some people do need long-term treatment if they meet certain criteria. Chronic Hepatitis B is the leading cause of liver cancer in some countries and can cause cirrhosis, a late stage of scarring of the liver.

Hepatitis C is a chronic infection, most frequently due to IV drug use through contaminated needle exposure. The type could transmit through tainted blood transfusions, although this is now almost impossible as blood samples get universally tested and sampled before they are used. (Medical professionals didn’t know about Hepatitis C as a unique entity before 1989, and samples could not be tested back then.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Hepatitis C testing for adults aged 18 years and older at least once in a lifetime.

Treatment: “There is good treatment available with a fixed duration, usually eight to 12 weeks in tablet form, and more than 95% can be cured with this treatment,” says Dr. Gara. But he notes that the longer you have Hepatitis C, the more at risk you can be for liver cancer and cirrhosis.

The rarest hepatitis type of them all, Hepatitis D (Delta) is a unique virus that is only seen in those who have Hepatitis B; it cannot exist by itself. “Hepatitis D needs the B genome to live and replicate within a host,” says Dr. Gara. This type causes serious health issues, including putting you at risk for liver cancer and cirrhosis.

Treatment: You treat Hepatitis D by suppressing underlying Hepatitis B infection. Newer treatments exclusively for Hepatitis D are expected in the future.

This type is somewhat similar to Hepatitis A, as Hepatitis E is an acute infection and rarely a chronic one. Known as a “zoonotic” disease, this hepatitis type stems from animals as they act as hosts, and humans can get exposed. Reports of transmission through undercooked pork or food that is not handled well are known, says Dr. Gara.

Treatment: Hepatitis E usually lasts its course and resolves itself without treatment. “In patients who are immunocompromised, Hepatitis E can be a serious infection; but overwhelmingly, it’s still an acute infection,” says Dr. Gara.

For hepatitis testing, please visit Palomar UC San Diego Health’s Find a Doctor online locator.