Two to three million South Africans have chronic viral hepatitis, with most remaining undiagnosed and untreated.

Hepatitis occurs when different viruses cause inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis A (HAV) and hepatitis E (HEV) viruses are mainly spread through contaminated food or water and typically cause self-limiting infections.

This means that following a short period of illness -- ranging from mild to severe and occasionally life-threatening -- the affected person usually recovers fully.

In contrast, three other types of hepatitis viruses -- hepatitis B (HBV), C (HCV) and D (HDV) -- are transmitted mainly through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood, saliva and semen. This may lead to chronic infection of the liver, meaning the infection persists for at least six months.

Chronic infection may last for life, and carriers, as people with chronic infection are called, remain infectious and can pass the infection to their close contacts without ever knowing they are infected. The younger someone is when becoming infected, the higher the risk of developing a chronic infection.

Mother-to-child transmission

A mother can also pass HBV to her child during childbirth, especially when she has a high concentration of the virus in her blood. More than 90%...