Etiology of Chronic Hepatitis Common causes The most common causes of chronic hepatitis are Hepatitis B virus Hepatitis C virus Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) Alcohol-related liver disease Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are frequent causes of chronic hepatitis; 5 to 10% of cases of HBV infection, with or without hepatitis D virus (HDV) coinfection, and about 75% of cases of HCV infection become chronic.