What is Hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease. What is the infectious agent that causes hepatitis A? Hepatitis A infection is caused by the hepatitis A virus. Hepatitis A virus is passed in the stool of infected persons. Unlike many other viruses, it can survive for a long time at room temperature in food and on surfaces and objects. The virus is not affected by cold or by freezing, but it is inactivated by heating foods to >185o F (85o C) for one minute. Adequate chlorination of water also kills the hepatitis A virus. Where is hepatitis A found? Hepatitis A infection occurs worldwide. The disease is common in Africa, Asia (except Japan), parts of the Caribbean, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Middle East. In the United States, hepatitis A occurs in isolated cases, in outbreaks, and in widespread epidemics. How do people get hepatitis A infection? Hepatitis A virus is usually spread from person to person. People get hepatitis A infection by putti
Hepatitis A is also known as infectious hepatitis. Unlike other types of hepatitis, hepA does not result in long term liver damage. Hepatitis A infection rarely causes death. (Mortality rate is less than 1%.) The virus that causes hepatitis A (hepA) is 27 nanometers in diameter. It contains a single strand of positive sense RNA, surrounded by an icosahedral protein coat. The hepA virus is a member of the picornaviridae family and has recently been reassigned to the genus Hepatovirus. The virus multiples inside the intestinal epithelium. On rare occasions, the hepA virus enters the bloodstream, and replicates in the liver where it is spread to the small intestines through bile secretions.
Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) is spread by eating food or drinking water contaminated with feces, or the bowel movement (BM) from a person infected with the Hepatitis A Virus. It can also be caused by anal-oral contact. Adults who become infected with HAV usually have bad symptoms for several weeks. Almost everyone who gets infected will recover and become immune to being infected again. There is a vaccine to prevent Hepatitis A. People who travel to areas with poor sanitation, illicit drug users, men who have sex with men, and people with liver disease should be vaccinated. More.
