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Hepatitis A virus is found in the stool (feces) of a person who has hepatitis A. The virus is spread most commonly when people put food or objects contaminated with stool containing HAV into their mouths.

Large numbers of people get the virus after drinking contaminated water because, in many parts of the world, drinking water is contaminated with raw sewage. The virus also may be spread by eating uncooked food (such as raw shellfish) and unpeeled fruits and vegetables washed in contaminated water. Hepatitis A outbreaks caused by contaminated drinking water are rare in the United States because water supplies are treated to destroy the virus and other harmful organisms.

Hepatitis A is caused by infection with the hepatitis A virus. The hepatitis virus is usually spread when a person ingests tiny amounts of contaminated fecal matter. The hepatitis A virus infects the liver cells and causes inflammation. The inflammation can impair liver function and cause other signs and symptoms of hepatitis A.

Hepatitis A Causes:

1.Receiving a blood transfusion with blood that contains the virus, though this is very rare
2.Having sex with someone who has the virus
3.Being in close contact with a person who’s infected — even if that person has no signs or symptoms
4.Eating raw shellfish from water polluted with sewage
5.Drinking contaminated water
6.When someone with the virus handles the food you eat without first carefully washing his or her hands after using the toilet

Outbreaks of hepatitis A among children in day care facilities occur because children, especially those who wear diapers, may get stool on their hands and then touch objects that other children put into their mouths. Caregivers in day care centers can spread the virus if they do not wash their hands thoroughly after changing a child’s diaper.

It is very rare for hepatitis A virus to be spread by infected blood or blood products. It is not known to be spread through saliva or urine.

Some people fear that hepatitis A infection is related to or increases the risk of contracting acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This is not true. The hepatitis A virus is not related to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, nor does it increase your risk of HIV infection. A person can be infected with both hepatitis A and HIV, but the two infections have nothing to do with each other.

The hepatitis A virus is passed out through the stools of an infected person 2 to 3 weeks before symptoms occur and during the first week of illness. Blood and secretions of an infected person may also spread the disease. The disease is also transmitted by contaminated food or water. The virus does not remain in the body after the infection has resolved. hence this disease has no carrier state.Eating shellfish taken from sewage-contaminated water is a common means of contracting hepatitis A.It can also be acquired by close contact with individuals infected with the virus.

There is only one cause of hepatitis A — an infection with the hepatitis A virus (HAV). The hepatitis A virus is an RNA virus that belongs to the genus hepatovirus of the Picornaviridae family.

When a person is infected with the hepatitis A virus, the virus is able to enter liver cells from the blood and then use those cells to make more copies of the hepatitis A virus. As more and more of the hepatitis A virus is made in the liver cells, they can become damaged and may even die.

A person infected with the virus may develop:

1.Yellowing of the skin or white of the eyes (known as jaundice).
2.Abdominal pain (stomach pain)
3.Lack of appetite
4.Nausea
5.Extreme tiredness
6.A sudden onset of fever

However, not everyone infected with the hepatitis A virus will develop symptoms.

Unlike several other types of viral hepatitis, there is no chronic (long-term) infection seen with hepatitis A. Also, once you have had hepatitis A, you cannot get it again.