Do you eat in restaurants? Do you have sex? Have you travelled to rural or back-country areas in Central or South America, Africa or Asia? Then you need to know more about hepatitis... and May is Hepatitis Awareness Month!

There are three common forms of viral hepatitis - A, B and C - but other strains - D and E- can occur. It's important to know the differences between hepatitis A, B and C because any one of these viruses can mean significant health risks for an infected person, especially if they go undetected.

The hepatitis A virus is usually spread from person to person through fecal-oral transmission - that is, putting something in the mouth that has been contaminated with the stool of a person with hepatitis A. People who live in the same household or have sexual contact with infected persons, travel to countries where hepatitis A is common, or inject drugs are at higher risk than those who do not. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one-third of Americans have evidence of past infections and are immune to this disease. There are safe and effective vaccines to prevent Hepatitis A.

The hepatitis B virus is spread by direct contact with blood or body fluids from a hepatitis B-infected person. Hepatitis B is found in infected semen, vaginal fluids and saliva that can be transmitted through vaginal, oral or anal sex. Also, it can be spread by sharing drugs, needles or "works" with an infected person, or from needlesticks or sharps on the job. An infected mother can spread it to her baby during birth. The CDC estimates that about 51,000 Americans are infected annually, and nearly 5,000 people die each year from the disease. CDC also estimates there are 1.25 million chronic cases of hepatitis B in the U.S. There are safe and effective vaccines to prevent Hepatitis B.

The hepatitis C virus is spread by direct contact with the blood from a hepatitis C-infected person, for example, by sharing drugs, getting exposed from a needlestick on the job, or transferring infection from mother to baby during birth. The CDC estimates that nearly 4 million Americans have been infected with the hepatitis C virus with around 20,000 new infections each year. About 8,000 to 10,000 people in the U.S. die every year from the disease. There is not a vaccine to prevent hepatitis C.

People with hepatitis A, B or C may have no immediate symptoms or they may have: fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine and/or jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes). For more information about hepatitis A, B or C, visit: http://www.ashastd.org/learn/learn_hepatitis.cfm