Hepatitis A is an infectious disease of the liver that can cause severe complications, including acute liver failure and death, in extreme cases. It is one of five known hepatitis viruses, and around 1.4 million cases are diagnosed in the world each year. Symptoms of hepatitis A usually appear two to six weeks after the disease has been contracted. Here are eight important facts about hepatitis A everybody should know.
Symptoms Of Hepatitis A
Many of the early symptoms of hepatitis A are easily mistaken for the symptoms of influenza or food poisoning. Common symptoms include bile in the urine, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, jaundice, loss of appetite, and abdominal discomfort. On average, adults begin experiencing these symptoms approximately twenty-eight days after being infected with the disease. Only a small percentage of adults do not show any signs at all. In comparison, ninety percent of children who have hepatitis A do not show symptoms of the disease, making it easy for children who seem healthy to transmit the virus to other individuals. Approximately ten to fifteen percent of those infected with hepatitis A experience a recurrence of symptoms for six months after the initial infection. These symptoms also contribute to the spread of the disease.