Hepatitis E testing first identified this strain of the hepatitis virus in 1955, when an outbreak occurred in India. It most often occurs to people between 15 and 40 years old, though it has been known to infect children. Younger people infected with hepatitis E tend to have fewer symptoms than adults.

Like many types of hepatitis, hepatitis E is most common in developing countries.

Q: How Is Hepatitis E Transmitted?

A: The main route of transmission for hepatitis E is through contact with contaminated water or the feces of someone with the disease. Hepatitis E can also be transmitted through animals that carry the virus, either when humans come into contact with their feces or when humans eat their uncooked meat.

Q: How Is Hepatitis E Treated?

Hepatitis E treatment is not needed in many cases because it is a self-limiting disease. This means that many people who contract the disease are able to fight it off with their immune systems.

A vaccine for hepatitis E has been developed, but health care researchers are still trying to determine whether the vaccine works well enough and cheaply enough to warrant widespread administration.

Q: Who Needs Hepatitis E Testing?

A: Most people in the developed world do not need to worry about hepatitis E testing. However, if a person travels to a developing world and shows symptoms of hepatitis E, a test may be in order.

Q: What Are the Symptoms of Hepatitis E?

A: Those who experience symptoms may find that the disease leaves them too weak to work, interact with others, or go about normal daily activities. Despite the initial difficulties of the disease, mortality rates for Hepatitis E are fairly low (about two percent of cases cause death).

In some situations, hepatitis E can lead to serious liver disease.

Pregnant women who contract hepatitis E, especially during the end of their pregnancy, tend to have a higher mortality risk than the general public. Pregnant women should thus avoid travel to countries where this disease is common.

Q: Is Hepatitis E an STD?

A: While it’s conceivable that hepatitis E could be transmitted sexually, it is not generally considered an STD. Most STD testing clinics do not offer hepatitis E testing, partly because infection rates are so low in the U.S.

Those interested in an STD test for hepatitis usually screen for hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

Early hepatitis D testing in the 1970s revealed that the virus was a strain of hepatitis that reproduces in the presence of hepatitis B. Worldwide, between 15 and 20 million people are thought to have hepatitis D, though its occurrence in the U.S. and other developed countries is fairly rare.

Q: How Is Hepatitis D Transmitted?

A: This virus is spread by contact with blood infected by Hepatitis D. Its transmission methods are similar to those for hepatitis B and may include:

• Sharing needles used for intravenous drugs;
• Engaging in sexual contact;
• Giving birth to a child (when the mother is infected); and
• Getting blood transfusions (before hepatitis D testing became common).

Generally speaking, people at risk for hepatitis B or who are known to have the virus may want to ask a health professional about hepatitis D testing.

Q: How Is Hepatitis D Treated?

A: Currently, no hepatitis D treatment or vaccine exists. The good news is that this disease is fairly rare in the United States and only those people at risk for hepatitis B have a chance at becoming infected with hepatitis D.

Infection can occur at the same time as infection with hepatitis B or significantly after a person’s contraction of the B-strain virus.

Q: What Are the Symptoms of Hepatitis D?

A: Hepatitis D mainly causes a worsening of the symptoms of hepatitis B, which include:

• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• General aches
• Dark urine
• Mild fever
• Jaundice (in later stages).

Further, people who contract hepatitis D are more likely to suffer from liver failure, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer than those who have hepatitis B alone. When present with hepatitis B, hepatitis D causes death in 20 percent of sufferers.

Q: Is Hepatitis D an STD?

A: Because it can be spread via sexual contact, hepatitis D can be considered an STD. Many STD testing facilities do not offer hepatitis D testing, though, because only those known to have hepatitis B can be infected.

A positive STD test for hepatitis B should signal a person to ask his or her physician about hepatitis D testing.

The latest results from hepatitis B testing show that the disease affects about 350 million people worldwide. In Asia, more than 10 percent of the population is thought to be infected, but in the U.S. the infection rate is below .5 percent.

Each year, an estimated 600,000 people worldwide die from complications related to hepatitis B.

Q: How Is Hepatitis B Transmitted?

A: Hepatitis B can be transmitted by sexual contact, mother-to-child infection, re-use of infected needles and blood transfusions. Because it can be passed on sexually, most STD testing facilities offer Hepatitis B testing services.

Hepatitis B is more contagious than HIV, largely because it remains more stable outside the body than other blood-borne pathogens.

Q: How Is Hepatitis B Treated?

A: Hepatitis B treatment varies depending on individual circumstances. It can take any of the following forms:

• No treatment: The immune systems of some infected people are able to clear hepatitis B without active treatment.
• Antiviral medication: Some with a positive STD test for hepatitis B end up with a chronic version of the illness. For these people, antiviral medications can suppress the virus’s spread and thus lower the patient’s chances of liver damage.
• Immune system modulators: These medications are intended for people who have weakened immune systems when they contract hepatitis B.

Q: What Are the Symptoms of Hepatitis B?

A: Some infected people may never seek hepatitis B testing because of a total lack of symptoms. Those who have acute hepatitis B may suffer from:

• Appetite loss
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Aches and pains
• Dark urine
• Mild fever
• Jaundice (later).

These symptoms generally clear after a few weeks. Chronic hepatitis B sufferers may also be asymptomatic but can have periodic liver swelling. Those with the chronic form of the disease are at risk for liver cancer and cirrhosis.

Q: Is Hepatitis B an STD?

A: Yes, though it can also be passed along by other means. Hepatitis B testing is available at most clinics and from most services that offer STD testing. And the CDC recommends that STD screening facilities offer vaccines for at-risk populations in addition to hepatitis B testing.