What is hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a virus, or infection, that causes liver disease and inflammation of the liver. Viruses can cause sickness. People can pass viruses to each other. Inflammation is swelling that occurs when tissues of the body become injured or infected. Inflammation can cause organs to not work properly.
What is the liver?
The liver is an organ that does many important things. Life is not possible without a liver.
Hepatitis A is a virus, or infection, that causes inflammation of the liver
Some functions of the liver include:
- Removing harmful chemicals from the blood
- Fighting infection
- Aiding in food digestion
- Storing nutrients and vitamins
- Storing energy
Who gets hepatitis A?
Anyone can get hepatitis A, but those risk factors include:
- Travel to developing countries
- Live with someone who currently has an active hepatitis A infection
- Use illegal drugs, including noninjection drugs
- Have unprotected sex with an infected person
- Provide child care
- Homosexual males
How could a person get hepatitis A?
People can get hepatitis A through contact with an infected person’s stool. This contact could occur by:
- Eating food made by an infected person who didn’t wash his or her hands after using the bathroom
- Drinking untreated water or eating food washed in untreated water
- Placing a finger or object in the mouth that came into contact with an infected person’s stool
- Close personal contact with an infected person, such as through sex or caring for someone who is ill
People cannot get hepatitis A from:
- Being coughed or sneezed on by an infected person
- Sitting next to an infected person
- Hugging an infected person
- Babies cannot get hepatitis A from breast milk.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis A?
Most people do not have any symptoms of hepatitis A. If symptoms of hepatitis A occur, they include:
- Feeling tired
- Muscle soreness
- Upset stomach
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Stomach pain
- Diarrhea
- Dark-yellow urine
- Light-colored stools
- Yellowish eyes and skin, called jaundice
Symptoms of hepatitis A can occur 2 to 7 weeks after coming into contact with the virus.
How is hepatitis A diagnosed?
A blood test will show if a person has hepatitis A.
How is hepatitis A treated?
Hepatitis A usually gets better in a few weeks without treatment. However, some people can have symptoms for up to 6 months. When a person recovers, their body will have learned to fight off a future hepatitis A infection. However, people can still get other kinds of hepatitis.
How can hepatitis A be avoided?
People can avoid getting hepatitis A by receiving the hepatitis A vaccine. Vaccines teach the body to attack specific viruses and infections. The hepatitis A vaccine teaches the body to attack the hepatitis A virus.
The hepatitis A vaccine is given in two shots. The second shot is given 6 to 12 months after the first shot. Both hepatitis A vaccine shots should be given to be fully protected. All children should be vaccinated between 12 and 23 months of age. Adults at higher risk of getting hepatitis A and people with chronic liver disease should also be vaccinated.
People traveling to countries where hepatitis A is common, including Mexico, should try to get both shots before they go. Most people gain some protection within 2 weeks after the first shot. People can also protect themselves and others from hepatitis A by:
- Handwashing with warm, soapy water after using the toilet or changing diapers and before fixing food or eating
- Using bottled water for drinking and making ice cubes
- Washing fruits and vegetables when in a developing country
What should be done when a person has had contact with the hepatitis A virus?
Seek urgent medical assistance. A dose of the hepatitis A vaccine or a medicine called hepatitis A immune globulin may protect a person from getting sick if taken shortly after coming into contact with the hepatitis A virus.