Hepatitis A has an incubation period of 1 to three weeks and can also be transmitted sexually. Outbreaks in day care centers are increasingly common. There may be a place for Chinese medicine in the treatment of hepatitis A, and although some people seem to develop better resistance to viral illness during acupuncture treatment, there is no evidence at present that acupuncture can prevent hepatitis A. Vaccination is a reasonable solution and should be strongly considered. It should be noted that the Chinese discovered the principles of vaccination long before they were known in the West.

Infection with hepatitis B is more likely to result in serious and chronic disease, and this seems to also be true for hepatitis C. Hepatitis D seems to be limited to an association with hepatitis B. Curiously, hepatitis D has similarities to plant viruses, and may have had its origins in the plant world. Hepatitis E seems to be an enterovirus and is transmitted by an oral-fecal route, and hepatitis G and F are presently under investigation. There may be some similarities in the G virus to certain viruses which infect other primates. Transmission of hepatitis B occurs during pregnancy, with intravenous and blood transfusion contamination, and sexually. Health care workers are also at risk through exposure to body fluids and blood. Exposure to untreated sewage also presents a risk. 

Hepatitis C is primarily transmitted by transfusion, but can also be transmitted sexually and by needle sharing. It also presents a significant risk to physicians, surgeons, nurses, and emergency and rescue workers, as with the other hepatitis subtypes. Chronic infection with hepatitis B, hepatitis B and D, and hepatitis C increases the likelihood of chronic and difficult to treat symptoms, including scarring of the liver, known to doctors as "cirrhosis". If enough of the liver is damaged by inflammation, liver failure will occur. This is fatal unless the patient has a liver transplant. Unusual and sometimes fatal complications of acute viral hepatitis include aplastic anemia, hemolytic anemia, hypoglycemia, and polyarteritis. The risk appears to be higher if infection occurs at a very early age or if chronic liver disease is also present.

The symptoms of hepatitis were known to ancient Chinese physicians who called the disease Damp and Heat of the Liver. Many centuries ago, Chinese physicians did autopsies and examined and documented for example patients with cirrhosis of the liver. TCM doctors also had treatments for the hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver using acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

Modern day research has confirmed many Chinese herbs as having a benefit for liver function such as wu wei zi commonly known as schizandra. But recently, scientists have been able to confirm specific physiological changes that an acupuncture point actually can do. This type of research is quite novel from an acupuncture research perspective and opens the door for scientists to really understand how acupuncture works. Continue to read TCM Treatment Evaluation for Viral Hepatitis.