What is the difference?
Hepatitis B vs Hepatitis C
Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are both viruses that infect the liver and can cause long-term damage, which is why they are often mentioned together. They differ in how they usually spread, whether a vaccine exists and whether treatment can cure them.
General information, not medical advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a clinician, pharmacist or sexual health clinic.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver spread through blood and sexual fluids; it can be prevented with a vaccine.
Full entryHepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a viral liver infection spread mainly through blood; sexual transmission is less common but possible, and modern tablets cure most cases.
Full entrySide by side
In short
Hepatitis B can be prevented with a vaccine but is usually controlled rather than cured; hepatitis C has no vaccine but can usually be cured.
What they have in common
Both can go unnoticed for years, both can lead to liver scarring and liver cancer if untreated, and both are diagnosed with a blood test.
Sources
More comparisons
- Affirmative consentvsEnthusiastic consentAffirmative consent is about getting a clear yes; enthusiastic consent goes a step further and cares whether that yes is truly wanted.
- Anxious attachmentvsAvoidant attachmentAnxious attachment leans in and needs reassurance; avoidant attachment leans out and needs space. Both people usually care deeply; they simply protect themselves in opposite ways.
- AsexualvsAromanticAsexual answers "do I feel sexual attraction?"; aromantic answers "do I feel romantic attraction?". A person can be one, both or neither.
- Bacterial vaginosisvsThrushA fishy smell points more towards BV, itching more towards thrush, but symptoms overlap, so it is worth getting them checked by a pharmacist, doctor or sexual health clinic.
Last reviewed 16 October 2026. Spotted a mistake?