Hepatitis-A Virus Information
Hepatitis A disease is found only in the bodies and body fluids of those suffering from the disease. The disease can spread only if you come in close contact with someone through unprotected sex, sharing needles or syringes, and using unclean equipment at saloons and tattoo parlors. It is not possible to contract the disease by merely touching someone. Both Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E can spread through contaminated food and drinking water. However, Hepatitis B is spread only through blood and body fluids.
Hepatitis A – Transmission : Spread when minute amounts of faecal matter are consumed as a result of poor hygiene by food handlers or through intake of contaminated water.
Hepatitis A – At High Risk : Intake of impure water and poor hygiene practices.
Hepatitis A – Symptoms: The symptoms of viral hepatitis are the same regardless of type: the earliest symptoms are nausea and vomiting. The nausea may me so severs, that an alcoholic may not like to have an alcoholic drink, and a confirmed smoker may refuse to smoke. Other symptoms include a mild fever, that doesn’t go away muscle aches, fatigue, loss of appetite and diarrhea, pain in the joints and upper abdomen. In acute hepatitis (the more serious stage of illness), the disease produces dark urine, pale faces, abdominal pain, yellowness in the whites of the eyes and then in the skin – the complex of symptoms known as “jaundice”.
One of the dreaded complications of viral hepatitis is hepatic coma, characterized by mental changes, disordered consciousness, and tremors, a peculiar mouth odor, raised levels of ammonia in the blood, and an abnormal electroencephalogram (ECG).
Hepatitis A – Severity: More than 99 percent of patients recover completely within a few weeks, usually without medical care. In otherwise healthy people, it causes no long-term chronic liver disease.
Hepatitis A – Treatment: Scientist have few effective treatments for chronic hepatitis. Corticosteroids are avoided by most physicians because there is a danger of vomiting blood. The most essential part of treatment is supplying high-carbohydrate foods such as bread, jam, wheat, biscuits, rice, vegetables and potatoes.
Fat may me stopped if the stools are pale white in color, which suggests obstructive jaundice. Otherwise it will help recovery if moderate (40-50G) fat is allowed. Alcohol has a toxic effect on the liver, while powerful chemicals in contraceptive pills could damage the liver further in chronic hepatitis.
Prevention: Carefully wash hands after using bathroom facilities, particularly before preparing food. Immunoglobulin shots as a preventive are available but are not advised, because the immunoglobulin injection may spread hepatitis virus B. C or D which are more dangerous than virus A.
