MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
National Institutes of Health
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Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. One type, hepatitis A, is caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). The disease spreads through contact with an infected person's stool. You can get it from
- Eating food made by an infected person who did not wash their hands after using the bathroom
- Drinking untreated water or eating food washed in untreated water
- Putting into your mouth a finger or object that came into contact with an infected person's stool
- Having close contact with an infected person, such as through sex or caring for someone who is ill
Most people do not have any symptoms. If you do have symptoms, you may feel as if you have the flu. You may also have yellowish eyes and skin, called jaundice. A blood test will show if you have HAV.
HAV usually gets better in a few weeks without treatment. However, some people can have symptoms for up to 6 months. Your doctor may suggest medicines to help relieve your symptoms.
The hepatitis A vaccine can prevent HAV. Good hygiene can also help. Wash your hands thoroughly before preparing food, after using the toilet, or after changing a diaper. International travelers should be careful about drinking tap water.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Hepatitis A (American Academy of Family Physicians)Also in Spanish
- Hepatitis A (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)Also in Spanish
- Hepatitis A Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Hepatitis Testing: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine)Also in Spanish
- Liver Function Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine)Also in Spanish
- Hepatitis A Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDFAlso in Spanish
- Hepatitis A: Questions and Answers (Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
- Hepatitis A FAQs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Travelers' Health: Hepatitis A (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Hepatitis Risk Assessment (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- FastStats: Viral Hepatitis (National Center for Health Statistics)
- Surveillance for Viral Hepatitis - United States, 2014 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Hepatitis A (National Institutes of Health)
- Article: Impact of Public Health Interventions on Drinking Water-Associated Outbreaks of Hepatitis...
- Article: A systematic review of the epidemiology of hepatitis A in Africa.
- Article: Immunization recommendations against hepatitis A in Spain: Effectiveness of immunization in...
- Hepatitis A -- see more articles
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- Hepatitis A -- children (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
- Hepatitis A and the Vaccine (Shot) to Prevent It (American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Hepatitis A Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDFAlso in Spanish
- Hepatitis virus panel (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
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