Hepatitis A (formerly generally known as infectious hepatitis) is an acute infectious disease from the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), an RNA virus, usually spread by the fecal-oral way; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion connected with contaminated food or water or through direct connection with an infectious person.
What are the Causes of Hepatitis A?
Hepatitis virus is often spread when a person ingests tiny levels of contaminated fecal matter. This hepatitis A virus infects your liver cells and will cause inflammation.
Hepatitis A virus might be transmitted several ways,
The most common cause of hepatitis A is eating food contaminated by the stools of an infected person as a result of poor personal hygiene.
- When someone with the virus handles the food you consume without first carefully washing her or his hands after making use of the toilet
- Drinking contaminated water
- Being in close contact with a person who’s infected — regardless of whether that person has no warning signs
- Regularly injecting illegal drugs
- Having Unprotected Sex with someone who has Hepatitis A
- working with primates (monkeys, apes, baboons, chimps, gorillas, etc) – as these can also be infected with hepatitis A
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What are the Symptoms of Hepatitis A?
Earlier symptoms of hepatitis A infection may be mistaken for influenza, but several sufferers, especially children, exhibit no symptoms whatsoever. Symptoms typically appear 2 to 6 weeks (the incubation period) as soon as the initial infection.
Some of the Symptoms Include:
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Nausea or vomiting
- Appetite loss
- Abdominal pain or discomfort, especially in the area of your liver on your right side beneath your lower ribs
- Diarrhea
- Clay-coloured feces
- Dark urine
- Muscle pain
- Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
Hepatitis Image
Make an appointment with your doctor if you have signs or symptoms that worry you.
What are the preventions of Hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A could be prevented by vaccination, good care and sanitation.
There are two types of vaccines: one containing inactivated hepatitis A virus, and another containing a live but attenuated virus. Both provide active immunity against the next infection.
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The vaccine protects against HAV in a lot more than 95% of cases for longer than 25 years. In the us the vaccine was first phased inside 1996 for children in high-risk regions, and in 1999 it ended up being spread to areas with elevating amounts of infection.
The vaccine is distributed by injection. An initial dose provides protection starting two to twenty eight days after vaccination; the second booster-style dose, given six to twelve months later, provides protection for over two decades.
What are the treatments of Hepatitis A?
There isn’t a specific treatment for hepatitis A. Sufferers are advised to rest, avoid fatty foods and alcohol
Resting your liver
It is important for you to rest your liver wherever possible until it fully recovers. This means you should not drink any alcohol till your GP (or the doctor accountable for your care) says it is safe for this (your liver is accountable for filtering alcohol through your blood).
Find ways to manage nausea.
Nausea can make it difficult to eat. Find approaches to make food more interesting. Eat small snacks each day, rather than three huge meals. If you’re having trouble eating enough calories, avoid low-calorie foods and choose high-calorie foods. For illustration, drink fruit juice or maybe milk, rather than Water.
Diagnosis Of Hepatitis A
To check for hepatitis A viruses, your doctor will test your blood. You may also need a biopsy to see if there is liver damage.
Reference:
Hepatitis A on Wikipedia
Webmd
