What is Hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is an illness caused by a virus that affects the liver.
What are the symptoms?
Adults tend to have more symptoms and feel sicker than children; children under 4 years of age may not look sick or have any symptoms. The symptoms for hepatitis A are:
- fever
- poor appetite, nausea (sometimes vomiting)
- abdominal pain or cramping
- brownish tea-colored urine and gray or white stools
- frequent loose stools, diarrhea
- a yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes- a condition know as jaundice
How soon do symptoms appear?
Symptoms can appear as early as 2 weeks or as late as 6 weeks (15 -50 days) after a person has been infected with the virus. For most people the symptoms appear 3-4 weeks (28 days) after being infected with hepatitis A virus.
How is the virus spread?
The virus is ingested (swallowed), multiplies in the body and is only passed in the stool (bowel movements) of the infected person-it is not in the saliva.
The virus can be passed to others when the ill person does not wash his/her hands well after going to the bathroom (or changing diapers) and then prepares foods or touches objects (such as toys) others will put in their mouth.
Hepatitis A is not spread by sharing drinks, kissing, hugging, or casual contact.
How long can an infected person spread hepatitis A?
The virus is shed in the stool as early as 2 weeks before the symptoms occur and as long as 1 week after the onset of jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes).
How can hepatitis A be prevented?
Good handwashing is very important to control the spread of this illness. Good handwashing requires soap and warm running water. Hands should be dried with clean towels (towels should not be shared), paper towel, or an air dryer.
Wash Hands:
- Before handling food
- Before touching toys children will put in their mouth
- After going to the bathroom
- After changing a diaper or helping in toilet training
- Diaper aged children and preschoolers need adults to help them wash their hands after each diaper change or visit to the bathroom.
What should you do if you have been exposed to hepatitis A?
Immune globulin (if given within 2 weeks or exposure) may prevent a hepatitis A infection, or make the illness milder. This means a person exposed to hepatitis A is not as likely to become ill or pass the infection on to others.
Anyone exposed to a person with hepatitis A and is in one of the following settings should call their doctor or health department of receive immune globulin:
- Child care setting (child care provider or attendee)
- Food preparer or food handler
- Medical setting
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