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Hepatitis A is an infectious disease of the liver caused by Hepatovirus A (HAV); [7] it is a type of viral hepatitis. [8] Many cases have few or no symptoms, especially in the young. [ 1 ] The time between infection and symptoms, in those who develop them, is two–six weeks. [ 2 ]
Viral hepatitis is primarily diagnosed through blood tests for levels of viral antigens (such as the hepatitis B surface or core antigen), anti-viral antibodies (such as the anti-hepatitis B surface antibody or anti-hepatitis A antibody), or viral DNA/RNA. [17] [32] In early infection (i.e. within 1 week), IgM antibodies are found in the blood ...
[2] [3] It is effective in around 95% of cases and lasts for at least twenty years and possibly a person's entire life. [4] If given, two doses are recommended beginning after the age of one. [2] It is given by injection into a muscle. [2] The first hepatitis A vaccine was approved in the European Union in 1991, and the United States in 1995. [5]
Hepatitis A and hepatitis B can be prevented by vaccination. Effective treatments for hepatitis C are available but costly. [6] In 2013, about 1.5 million people died from viral hepatitis, most commonly due to hepatitis B and C. [6] East Asia, in particular Mongolia, is the region most affected. [6]
Combined hepatitis A and B vaccine, is used to provide protection against hepatitis A and hepatitis B. [3] [7] It is given by injection into muscle.[8]It is used in areas where hepatitis A and B are endemic, for travelers, people with hepatitis C or chronic liver disease, and those at high risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
Approximately 290,000 deaths from the virus, mainly from liver cancer and cirrhosis attributed to hepatitis C, also occurred in 2019. [12] The existence of hepatitis C – originally identifiable only as a type of non-A non-B hepatitis – was suggested in the 1970s and proven in 1989. [13] Hepatitis C infects only humans and chimpanzees. [14]
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. [1] An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable disease, is an illness resulting from an infection.
The 2019 United States Hepatitis A outbreak was an occurrence of several declared outbreaks of the disease, Hepatitis A, in locations in the United States including substantial instances in the states of Kentucky, [2] Mississippi, Florida, and the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, [3] as well as an isolated food-related occurrence in New Jersey. [4]