• Hepatitis A or infectious hepatitis is a virus that affects the liver.
• The virus is found in the feces of an infected person.
• Hepatitis A infection is a common disease, which is often found among children and young adults.

(See more information below.)

• It is most commonly spread from person to person by:
• not washing hands well with soap and water after using the bathroom, after changing diapers or before preparing or serving food;
• eating food and/or drinking water contaminated with the hepatitis A virus.
• The time between becoming infected with hepatitis A and becoming sick is about one month.
• Infected persons can pass the infection to others most easily up to 2 weeks before becoming sick.
• Infected persons who do not feel sick can still pass the virus to others.

People who do not eat or drink with, or use the same bathrooms as the infected person, are not at a great risk of becoming infected.

• Many infected persons, especially the young, have no symptoms.
• Others have one or more of the following:
• tiredness or a washed-out feeling;
• loss of appetite;
• nausea and/or vomiting;
• pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen;
• fever;
• jaundice (a yellow color of the skin and whites of the eyes).
• Symptoms usually last from 1-2 weeks, but may last for months.
• Persons who have been infected cannot be infected again and cannot infect others.
  

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after using the bathroom, after changing diapers and before preparing, serving or eating food.
• Do not share eating tools such as cups, forks and spoons. Do not share food or drink from the same container.
• Dispose of dirty diapers carefully.
• Dispose of sewage and waste in a safe manner. Talk to your local public health office.
• Get immunized with hepatitis A vaccine.
  

• Children at risk of infection in high-risk communities.
• People with chronic liver disease and/or hepatitis C.
• Persons with hemophilia A or B.
  

• Age limitations may be specified by the vaccine manufacturers.
• People who are ill and have a fever.
• Women who are pregnant should be given hepatitis A vaccine only if clearly necessary. The effect on fetal development has not been established although the risks to the fetus are likely to be negligible.
• Allergic or previous anaphylactic reaction to any component of the vaccine.
  

• Reported side effects are usually mild and do not last long.
• Those who have side effects report the following:
• soreness;
• redness;
• swelling at the needle site.
• Some may have:
• headache;
• mild fever; or
• flu-like symptoms. These reactions are usually mild and last less than a day.
• More serious side effects (e.g. severe allergic responses, convulsions) are very rare.
  
  

• Report any adverse or unexpected reactions to your local public health nurse or your doctor as soon as possible.
• Talk to your public health nurse if:
• you have questions or concerns about your child's reaction to immunization; or,
• you had to take your child to your doctor, hospital or health centre with an illness that might be related to the immunization.

For more information contact:
Your local public health office OR your physician.