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Hepatitis A    See images

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Alternative names:

Acute viral hepatitis A; Viral hepatitis

Definition:

An inflammation of the liver caused by the Hepatitis A virus.

Causes and Risks

The disease is transmitted by contaminated food or water, or contact with a person ill with Hepatitis A. The Hepatitis A virus is shed in the stools of an infected person during the incubation period of 15 to 45 days before symptoms occur and during the first week of illness. Blood and secretions may also be infectious. The virus does not remain in the body after the infection has resolved, and there is no carrier state (a person who spreads the disease to others but does not become ill).

The symptoms associated with Hepatitis A are similar to the flu, but the skin and the eyes may become yellow (jaundice) because the liver is not able to filter bilirubin from the blood. The incidence is estimated at 125,000 200,000 total infections in the U.S. every year.

Risk factors include chronic institutionalization (nursing home or rehabilitation center), recent Hepatitis A infection in a family member, and recent travel or immigration from Asia, South or Central America.

Other common hepatitis virus infections include Hepatitis B virus and Hepatitis C virus.

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