Viral hepatitis

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Viral Hepatitis

Definition

  • An infectious disease caused by viral infection, with hepatitis types A, B, C, and E classified as notifiable infectious diseases

Infection route

  • Hepatitis A / Hepatitis E: Fecal-oral transmission, ingestion of contaminated water or food, etc.
  • Hepatitis B / Hepatitis C: Perinatal mother-to-child transmission, bloodborne infection, sexual contact, etc.

Preventive measures

  • Hepatitis A / Hepatitis E: Personal hygiene such as handwashing, and safe food consumption
  • HepatitisHepatitis B / Hepatitis C: Compliance with standard precautions in medical institutions (no reuse of disposable medical devices, proper reprocessing of reusable medical devices, adherence to safe injection practices), individual use of tools that can cause skin injury such as razors and nail clippers, avoidance of unlicensed medical procedures such as tattoos and piercings, and practice of safe sex using condoms * Hepatitis A and B can be prevented through vaccination.

Current status of occurrence

Year Infectious Disease - 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
YearInfectious Disease 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Class 2 Hepatitis A 3,989 6,583 1,890 1,324 1,168
Hepatitis E* 191 494 528 572 756
Class 3 Hepatitis B 382 453 332 315 250
Hepatitis C 11,850 10,116 8,308 7,249 6,444
Hepatitis E was newly designated as a Class 2 notifiable infectious disease in 2020, with data recorded starting from July 1, 2020.

Notification scope

Notification scope Table
Category Scope of notification (○ : Subject to notification) Diagnostic criteria
Classification Type Cases Suspected
Cases		 Pathogen
Carriers		 Deaths Pathogen
Class 2
Infectious Disease		 Hepatitis A ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
  • Detection of specific IgM antibody in specimen (blood)
  • Detection of specific gene in specimens (blood, stool, rectal swab)
Hepatitis E ○ × ○ ○ ○
Class 3
Infectious Disease		 Hepatitis B ○ × × ○ ○
  • Detection of specific antigen (HBsAg) and specific antibody (IgM anti-HBc) in specimen (blood)
    (However, excludes those diagnosed with hepatitis B within the past 6 months.)
  • Detection of specific antibody
    (IgM anti-HBc) in specimen (blood)
Hepatitis C1),2) ○ × ○ ○ ○
  • Detection of specific genes from the specimen (blood)
  1. Notify when hepatitis C virus gene is first detected after visiting the relevant medical institution.
  2. If a patient has been continuously treated for hepatitis C but has never been reported by the relevant medical institution, they are subject to notification.
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