Hepatitis A alert in Tshwane

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Hepatitis A is an acute, self-limiting (one that ends without treatment) disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus.

Symptoms vary depending on the age of the patient. In children under four years, the infection is most often asymptomatic because mostly they don't show jaundice. In individuals older than 15 years, 40-70 percent of patients present with jaundice.

Common symptoms include appetite loss, fatigue/malaise, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, fever, arthralgia and myalgia, flu-like symptoms (cough, running nose, painful throat), sensitivity to light and headache.

The disease is reported to be highly infectious and direct person-to-person spread is common, especially in poor hygiene settings.