I think you might have been thinking of Syphilis...the other VD, Gonorrhea, is curable with high doses of penicillin.
Depends on the type and severity of the Heptatitis, my friend...Hep.A is usually contracted through badly handled (unsanitary) produce or food, and there was an widespread outbreak of it in Southern California in 1998...I and my partner, Rob, were two cases being treated in our own home--the hospitals were full, of other cases...I was immobile for 3 days after he recovered...and it's not fun. It's one of the only things I can think of that actually makes your skin hurt, and all of it!
Then there's Hep.B, and Hep.C/D...C/D is usually very advanced and almost always fatal if not treated close to its onset--Rob and I have a friend who almost died from it just after we met, it actually left him with only 20% of his liver remaining.