When we talk about Hepatitis and Chinese Medicine we have to be clear hepatitis is a Western disease category. That is to say that Chinese Medicine certainly recognizes liver diseases or "Gan Bing" and its various manifestations be they acute or chronic. And we recognize "evil out-side influences" which can be seen as viruses.
But Chinese Medicine has to make certain leaps across to Western Medicine to affect Western tests such as viral loads, PCR and ALT levels. Unfortunately, for us acupuncturists who aren't so inclined, it means that we have to learn some about Western medicine. This becomes important as we look at the progression of the chronic forms of Hepatitis B and C. In the case of C, the signs and symptoms in a Chinese diagnosis may not be shown until Western tests show significant liver damage. With C, the patient may have been infected for decades before having complaints that may be brought to the Chinese medical practitioner.
On the other hand, the strength of the Chinese diagnosis is that we can often find a treatable diagnosis in symptoms that Western medicine may disregard. If we can compare it to HIV and Aids, we are pretty good at treating Aids when there are noticeable problems but we don't have a cure for HIV viral infection where there is a Western lab test. The degree to which we treat these "Chinese signs and symptoms" is the challenge of the individual practitioner. It is also the challenge of the patient who must have faith in a treatment (usually by herbs) that may have to take for months or years that may or may not affect the Western tests.
With Chinese Medicine, it is fairly easy to determine the diagnosis if not the treatment for the beginning and ending stages of hepatitis. That is to say: in the stages where there are multiple complaints: in the beginning, jaundice and flu like symptoms and in the end stages (if and when it comes to that) where in B and C there is significant liver damage causing cirrhosis, skin affectations and bleeding disorders. It is the middle chronic stage that is a challeng and that was the focus of my study in China.