Hepatitis A

What Is It?

Hepatitis A is a viral infection that can inflame and damage the liver. Unlike other forms of hepatitis, hepatitis A is usually mild and does not last long. Usually spread in contaminated food or water, hepatitis A also can be passed during sexual practices that involve the anus. In rare cases, hepatitis A can be spread by contact with the blood of a person who has the infection, for instance, when intravenous drug users share needles.

About 30% of people in the United States have been exposed to hepatitis A, but only a very small number of them develop symptoms from the disease. Americans most likely to get hepatitis A include:

• People who eat shellfish taken from waters where raw sewage drains
• Children and caregivers in daycare centers who are exposed to the stool of an infected child
• International travelers

Symptoms

If the infection is mild, there may not be any symptoms, especially in a child. When symptoms appear, they can include:

• Tiredness
• Loss of appetite
• Fever
• Nausea
• Tenderness in the stomach area
• Dark, tea-colored urine
• Yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice)

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask whether you have eaten shellfish recently or traveled to a foreign country with poor sanitation. He or she will ask about your personal hygiene habits and whether you have been near someone who has hepatitis A.

Your doctor will examine you to check for swelling and tenderness near your liver and for a yellowish color to your skin and the whites of your eyes. You will need to have blood tests to confirm the diagnosis.

Expected Duration

Hepatitis A usually lasts two to eight weeks, although some people can be ill for as long as six months. The infection is likely to last longer in people who are older or are in poor health.

Prevention

You can reduce your risk of getting hepatitis A by following these basic guidelines:

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap after handling food, after using the bathroom and before eating.
• Buy shellfish only at reputable food stores or restaurants.
• If you catch your own shellfish, make sure that it comes from waters inspected regularly by health authorities.
• If you are traveling to a developing country, avoid drinking water or eating food that may be contaminated, and get vaccinated for hepatitis A before your trip.
• Avoid injecting illegal drugs. Outbreaks of hepatitis A have been seen among intravenous drug users.

If you have been exposed to someone with hepatitis A, your doctor may give you an injection of a medicine called hepatitis A immune globulin to help prevent you from getting symptoms of the illness. For this therapy to be effective, you need to have this injection within two weeks of being exposed for it to work.

A vaccine to protect against hepatitis A is available for people who are at high risk of being infected and for those who already have liver disease or another type of hepatitis, such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C. These people may become severely ill if they develop hepatitis A. People at high risk include:

• Travelers to developing countries
• Men who engage in homosexual sex
• People who require transfusion of products that contain blood for bleeding disorders
• Research workers who handle the hepatitis A virus in the laboratory

Treatment

There are no drugs to treat hepatitis A. Doctors generally recommend getting bed rest, eating well-balanced meals, drinking plenty of fluids and avoiding alcoholic beverages. It is also essential to avoid medications that can be toxic to your liver, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol).

When To Call A Professional

Call your doctor if you suspect that you have been exposed to someone with hepatitis A or if you are showing symptoms of the illness. If you are planning to travel to a foreign country, ask your doctor whether you should be vaccinated against hepatitis A before your trip.

Prognosis

Nearly everyone who gets hepatitis A will recover completely within a few weeks to months. A very small number of people can get severe disease. In very rare cases (less than one-tenth of 1% of patients), the disease can cause liver failure, which can result in death.

In people who already had liver disease or other types of hepatitis, such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C, the risk of severe disease from hepatitis A is much higher.

Additional Info

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

1600 Clifton Road

Atlanta, GA 30333

Phone: 404-639-3534

Toll-Free: 1-800-311-3435

http://www.cdc.gov/

National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)

2 Information Way

Bethesda, MD 20892-3570

Toll-Free: 1-800-891-5389

Phone: 301-654-3810

Fax: 301-907-8906

Email: nddic@info.niddk.nih.gov

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/