Hepatitis A: Symptom and Causes

Symptoms

Symptoms appear one month after being exposed to hepatitis A virus. When symptoms do appear, they can appear suddenly and include:

• Nausea and Vomiting
• Low-grade fever (fever up to 102°F)
• Fatigue
• Pain in your abdomen, especially on your right side
• Dark-colored urine
• Loss of appetite
• Jaundice (the yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes)
• Muscle pain
• Itching

It is important to remember that most people who have the hepatitis A never develop any symptoms. Young children are likely to have very mild cases of hepatitis A. Among older children and adults, infection usually causes more severe symptoms, with jaundice occurring in more than 70% of cases.

Causes

Hepatitis A virus is present in the faeces or blood of the infected individual about 15 – 45 days before symptoms occur and during the first week of illness and 
It is spread if:

• You eat or drink food or water that has been contaminated by stools (feces) containing the hepatitis A virus.
• A person with hepatitis A does not wash his or her hands properly after going to the bathroom and touches other objects or food
• You participate in sexual practices that involve oral-anal contact