Hepatitis viruses cause 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually, and cause liver diseases including acute and chronic infections, liver failure, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. These viruses are a diverse group, and can be either dsDNA viruses such as Hepatitis B virus (family Hepadnaviridae), or ssRNA viruses such as Hepatitis A (family Picornaviridae), Hepatitis C (Flaviviridae), Hepatitis D (Deltavirus) and Hepatitis E (Hepeviridae).
They all have in common their ability to infect hepatocytes and cause jaundice and liver disease (Table 1, adapted from Rasche, 2019):
| |
HAV |
HBV |
HCV |
HDV |
HEV |
| Virus family, genus |
Picornaviridae, Hepatovirus |
Hepadnaviridae, Orthohepadnavirus |
Flaviviridae, Hepacivirus |
Unassigned, Deltavirus |
Hepeviridae, Orthohepevirus |
| Genome type |
Positive-sense linear ssRNA |
Circular, partially dsDNA (full-length negative-sense, partial positive-sense), replication via reverse transcription |
Positive-sense linear ssRNA |
Viroid-like, negative-sense circular ssRNA |
Positive-sense linear ssRNA |
| Approx. genome length (nt) |
7,500 |
3,200 |
9,600 |
1,700 |
7,200 |
| Virion diameter (nm) |
27-32 |
42 |
55-65 |
36-43 |
30-34 |
| Envelope |
No / quasi-enveloped |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No / quasi-enveloped |
| Course of infection |
Acute |
Acute/chronic (children 30-90%; adults <5%) |
Acute/chronic (80-85%) |
Acute/chronic (>80% if superinfection) |
Acute/chronic (<1%) |
| Predominant transmission routes |
Mainly faecal-oral, parenteral |
Vertical, parenteral, sexual |
Parenteral |
Parenteral, sexual |
Faecal-oral, food-borne, parenteral |
| Cellular receptor |
Unknown |
NTCP, heparan sulfate proteoglycans |
CD81, SR-B1, LDL receptor, claudin-1, occludin |
NTCP, heparan sulfate proteoglycans |
Unknown |
dsDNA, double-stranded DNA; nt, nucleotide; NTCP, sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide; ssRNA, single-stranded RNA.
Table 1: Properties of Hepatitis Viruses
Browse all hepatitis products →
