Food Bourne Illness

Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver from the hepatitis A virus. Typically the A virus is found in the stool and blood of a person who is infected with hepatitis; and symptoms show 15-45 days before and during the first week of illness. Do not eat or drink anything that has been contaminated by the feces of an infected individual. Fruits, Vegetables, Shellfish, Ice, and Water are all common sources of the hepatitis A virus. Another way of catching the hepatitis A virus is coming into contact with the blood or stools of a person who has the A virus. Make sure you protect yourself if you engage in oral or anal sexual contact with an unknown partner; this is another way to contract the virus.

As of now there are approximately thirty six hundred cases reported each year. With such a range of days in between contraction and showing symptoms there are more infected people than are actually diagnosed. Some risk factors are but not limited to: International travel (especially to Asia or South or Central America), Intravenous drug use, Living in a nursing home or rehabilitation center, and working in a health care, food, or sewage industry.

Here are some symptoms that show up around two to six weeks after being exposed to the hepatitis virus. Dark urine, fatigue, itching, loss of appetite, low grade fever, nausea accompanied by vomiting, pale or clay colored stools, and yellow skin(often referred to as jaundice). After you have been diagnosed by a physician it may be discovered that you have an enlarged and tender liver from this virus. Also having a raised lgM and lgG antibodies present in the blood will occur.

Treatment should consist of rest, avoidance of alcohol and other toxic substances, and fatty foods are recommended. There is no such medical treatment to date on treating hepatitis A. The only thing you can do is take care of yourself not only mentally but physically if it is deemed you have contracted the A virus. The good thing is that the virus does not remain in the blood stream after the infection has dissipated. The recovery rate of a hepatitis A patient is three months for eighty five percent of infected individuals. Nearly all of the patients with the A virus get better after six months. The elderly and people with chronic liver disease are at the most risk of death unfortunately.

Always wash your hands after using the restroom, whether it be at home or at a restaurant, this is one of many ways of preventing contraction of the A virus. Avoiding water, food, and ice that look unclean is another prevention method.

1. Sjogren MH, Cheatham JG. Hepatitis A. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2010:chap 77.

2. Victor JC, Monto AS, Surdina TY, Suleimenova SZ, Vaughan