GoodRx Guide
Hepatitis A: Your GoodRx Guide
Comprehensive information for you or a loved one — including treatment options and discounts on popular medications.
Definition
Hepatitis A is an illness that causes inflammation and swelling of the liver. The hepatitis A virus (HAV) causes hepatitis A. This virus is one of five types of viral hepatitis.
Most people who get HAV get better, but sometimes hepatitis A can cause serious liver damage, including liver failure. Though it’s rare, people have died from HAV infections.
Causes and risk factors
Hepatitis A spreads between people through contaminated food and water.
Person-to-person transmission
HAV transmission occurs through person-to-person contact and is very contagious. When someone has hepatitis A, they shed the virus (release copies of the virus) in their stool. Shedding starts before symptoms appear, which is why prevention is so important (more on this below).
Other people can pick up hepatitis A if they ingest the virus. Even tiny amounts of the virus can cause infection. If someone puts something in their mouth with a few virus particles on it, they can get sick.
People with hepatitis A are more likely to spread the virus to people they have close contact with — like household members or sexual partners. People who live in group settings or experience homelessness may also spread the virus to one another.
It’s possible to get HAV through contact with another person’s blood. But this is less common.
Contaminated food and water
You can also get hepatitis A if you eat food or drinks contaminated with HAV. This is common in some countries and areas that don’t have adequate sanitation. If you travel to areas where there’s a lot of hepatitis, make sure to be mindful about what you eat and drink. In the U.S. outbreaks from food are uncommon.
Symptoms
Symptoms of hepatitis A infection include:
Fever
Fatigue
Nausea and vomiting
Stomach pain
Diarrhea
Yellow color of the eyes and skin (jaundice)
Stools that are light in color
Joint pain
Symptoms usually start about 1 month after exposure to the virus and tend to come on suddenly.
Not everyone with hepatitis A has symptoms. Only about 30% of children and 70% of adults develop symptoms.
Some people can develop more serious illness like:
Relapsing hepatitis: About 15% of people develop relapsing hepatitis or gallbladder disease. During a relapse, people experience symptoms of hepatitis A, but the symptoms are usually more mild. People are contagious during the relapse.
Acute liver failure (ALF): A serious complication of hepatitis A is ALF. This occurs in under 1% of people. But more than ⅓ of people with ALF need a liver transplant, and some people die before they receive a transplant. Older adults and those with chronic liver disease, hepatitis B or C, or HIV are more likely to get ALF.
Treatments
There’s no specific treatment for hepatitis A. Healthcare providers recommend:
Getting rest
Drinking plenty of fluids
Taking medication to help with nausea and vomiting
Avoiding alcohol use
Avoiding medications or vitamins that put stress on the liver
Most people with hepatitis A get better on their own. Symptoms usually last under 2 months. Once you recover, you’re immune to hepatitis A for life.
If you come into contact with HAV, hepatitis A immunoglobulin may help. Hepatitis A immunoglobulin can keep you from getting sick with HAV, but only if you take it soon after exposure and before symptoms start. Experts recommend immunoglobulin for people who:
Are immunocompromised
Have chronic liver disease (including hepatitis B or C)
Are younger than 12 months old or over 60 years old
Have not been vaccinated against hepatitis A
Prevention
Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from getting hepatitis A. The schedule for the hepatitis A vaccine is 2 doses, 6 months apart. It’s safe for people who are immunocompromised.
The hepatitis A vaccine is part of the recommended childhood immunizations series. Healthcare providers usually offer it when a child is 12 months old.
Anyone can request a hepatitis A vaccine. But it’s especially important to get the vaccine if you:
Travel to areas where hepatitis A outbreaks are common
Engage in certain types of sexual activity
Work in day care or healthcare settings
Have chronic liver disease
Are awaiting a liver transplant, or already have one
When traveling to areas where hepatitis A is common, make sure to be careful about what you eat and drink. Raw foods can be particularly risky.
Common Concerns
Since the hepatitis A vaccine became available in 1995, cases of hepatitis A in the U.S. fell over 90%. But since not everyone is vaccinated against hepatitis A, outbreaks can still happen. Most often, large person-to-person outbreaks happen in the U.S. That’s why it’s important to get vaccinated if someone in your home has hepatitis A. This can prevent you from getting sick and passing it to other people.
It’s also important for people living in group settings to get vaccinated if someone in their setting has hepatitis A.
If you test positive for hepatitis A, you should stay home from work or school as soon as you start having symptoms. You can go back to work or school about 1 week after your symptoms (and jaundice) go away.
While you’re sick:
Don’t prepare food for other people
Avoid having sex
Wash your hands with soap and water — alcohol-based hand rubs won’t kill hepatitis A
Clean your toilet often
Don’t share towels
Wash your clothes and laundry separately in hot water
Clean surfaces with household bleach
Hepatitis A can be categorized a sexually transmitted infection (STI). If you have hepatitis A, you can pass it to someone else through sexual activity. Certain sex practices, like anal sex, can increase the likelihood of passing hepatitis A to someone else. That’s why health experts recommend not having sex when you have hepatitis A.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Chapter 4 - travel related infectious diseases.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Hepatitis A.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Hepatitis A - general fact sheet.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Hepatitis A questions and answers for the public.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Outbreak of Hepatitis A virus infections linked to fresh blackberries.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Sexual transmission and viral hepatitis.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Choose safe food and drinks when traveling.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Birth-18 years immunization schedule.
Fiore, A. E., et al.. (2006). Prevention of Hepatitis A through active or passive immunization: Recommendations of the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Ghasemian, A. (2016). Prevalence of hepatitis A across various countries in the Middle East, African, and Eastern European countries. Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine.
Koenig, K. L., et. al. (2017). Hepatitis A virus: Essential knowledge and a novel identify-isolate-inform tool for frontline healthcare providers. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine.
National Health Service. (2019). Hepatitis A - treatment.
Nelson, N. P. (2017). Updated dosing instructions for immune globulin (Human) GamaSTAN S/D for Hepatitis A virus prophylaxis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York State. (2021). The A, B, Cs of viral hepatitis.
NYC Health. (n.d.). Hepatitis A.
Shin, E. C., et al. (2018). Natural history, clinical manifestations, and pathogenesis of Hepatitis A. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine.
World Health Organization. (2019). Hepatitis.
