Not Medical Advice: Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. The virus is primarily spread when an uninfected (and unvaccinated) person ingests food or water that is contaminated with the faeces of an infected person. The disease is closely associated with unsafe water or food, inadequate sanitation and poor personal hygiene.
Unlike hepatitis B and C, hepatitis A infection does not cause chronic liver disease and is rarely fatal, but it can cause debilitating symptoms and fulminant hepatitis (acute liver failure), which is often fatal.
Hepatitis A occurs sporadically and in epidemics worldwide, with a tendency for cyclic recurrences. The hepatitis A virus is one of the most frequent causes of foodborne infection. Epidemics related to contaminated food or water can erupt explosively, such as the epidemic in Shanghai in 1988 that affected about 300 000 people.
Hepatitis A viruses persist in the environment and can withstand food-production processes routinely used to inactivate and/or control bacterial pathogens.
WebMD looks at the symptoms and treatments for the hepatitis A virus.
In latest buzz, Los Angeles health officials declared a hepatitis A outbreak in the county on Tuesday, days after San Diego County announced a public health emergency due to the virus that killed at least 16 people.
Ten cases have been reported in L.A. County, health officials said. Two of the cases were identified as “community-acquired” and couldn’t be traced back to San Diego County or Santa Cruz, where more than 500 people have been infected in the last few months, FOX11 LA reported. Read more at Fox News.