Causes
Hepatitis A is a disease caused by a virus called hepatitis virus A (HAV). This virus is carried in the human feces. The virus enters into a person’s body when he or she eats food that is contaminated with the feces of an infected individual (Hepatitis A overview” Para 2)
Signs and symptoms
When a person is infected with this disease, there are chances that the person may show no symptoms or the person can just show some mild symptoms. Even if a person shows no symptoms, the feces of this infected person will still be carrying the virus and can facilitate passing over the disease to other people. As it is presented by “Hepatitis overview” (Par 3) “the common symptoms for this disease include; loss of appetite, losing weight, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pains, yellow and white eyes (jaundice), and itchy skin among others”.
After a period of 2 months, the hepatitis A infection in a person may disappear but it can come about once again in some individuals. The moment an individual is infected with this disease and the immune system has fought the hepatitis A virus successfully; this individual will never be infected again since his or her body is now permanently immune to the disease. Complications arising from this infection may arise but this only occurs in rare cases. There are very minimal chances for one to have his or her liver permanently damaged as a result of this infection. However, in very few cases, the infection can be quite fatal, and mostly among those people who are old and they can have permanent liver damage.
Treatment
We have no specific treatment for hepatitis A. In most cases, the immune system of an infected person engages in fighting the disease and normal health may be regained after a period of two months of infection. As a way of dealing with this disease, doctors advice the infected people to avoid taking alcoholic drinks and also to keep away from eating foods full of fats. Taking these substances may result in complications for the liver and the liver may not be able to process them and this may worsen inflammation.
Prevention
Some measures can be taken to prevent people from being infected with this disease. One of the measures that can be taken is that people should wash their hands thoroughly after getting in contact with the feces or body fluids of a person who may be infected. More so people are supposed to avoid eating unclean food and drinking water that is not clean.
If an individual was exposed to hepatitis A recently and has neither had this disease before nor has been vaccinated, he or she should inquire from the doctor about being vaccinated or being immunized using “immune globulin”. The most important reasons for an individual to be vaccinated or to receive immune globulin are that;
- one may be living with a person who is infected with Hepatitis A,
- a person may have had sex with a person who is infected with the disease,
- one may have shared prohibited drugs through injection with a person who is infected,
- one may have had very close personal contact with a person who is infected over a period of time,
- a person may have taken food in a hotel where those people handling the food might have been infected or the food itself might be contaminated with the germs causing this disease.
Those people who travel from one place to the other are supposed to avoid eating meat or fish which might have not been cooked properly. They are not suparentare nt supposed to purchase on the stretes. More so, they should get vaccinated against the disease.
Considering immunization for this disease, it t is offered in a sequence of injections. The initial lone injection that is made on the arm offers protection to the person for a period of one year. The second injection that is given is a booster that makes protection to go on for a longer period, and this period is normally about ten years. It is always recommend that young children receive a vaccine in those regions that are established to be having higher chances for people to get infected with the disease. A vaccine for this disease is also recommended for that individual who is moving to a place where there are high chances of catching this disease. More so, it is recommended that those individuals who engage in sexual activities that expose them to risks of catching the disease be immunized (“Hepatitis A”).
Prognosis
The Hepatitis A virus can no longer stay in the body the moment the infection has disappeared. More than 85 percent of those individuals having hepatitis A recover from the infection after a period of three months. Nearly all those individuals who have been infected with Hepatitis A get well within a period of six months. The risk of death is low (U.S National Library).
References
“Hepatitis A”, avert.org. Avert. 2000. Web.
“Hepatitis A overview”, emedicinehealth. eMedicineHealth, 2010. Web.
U.S National Library, Hepatitis A, 2010. Web.