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Hepatitis A Last updated September 2013. Hepatitis A virus. Associated with poor hygiene and sanitation - primarily transmitted from person-to-person via the faecal-oral route Common source outbreaks due to contaminated food or water also occur
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Hepatitis A virus • Associated with poor hygiene and sanitation - primarily transmitted from person-to-person via the faecal-oral route • Common source outbreaks due to contaminated food or water also occur • Acute disease – does not have a chronic form. Protective antibodies develop after infection • Vaccine preventable • Clinical severity tends to increase with age. Adults can experience severe illness lasting several months • The most common symptoms are fever, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue and abdominal pain, followed within a few days by jaundice • In developed countries, hepatitis A is most commonly seen among travellers to endemic countries, household or sexual contacts of known cases, injecting drug users (IDU) and men who have sex with men (MSM)
Number of notifications of hepatitis A, 2004-2012, by sex and age group (years)
Mean annual notification rates per 100,000 population for hepatitis A, 2004-2012, by sex and age group (years)
Summary of 2012 hepatitis A cases • 30 cases notified • 43% (n=13) were notified by the HSE-East and 23% (n=7) by the HSE-South • 57% (n=17) female, 43% (n=13) male • Highest notification rates in children • 11 cases linked to travel outside of Ireland and a further 3 cases had a history of recent travel but could also have been infected in Ireland • 7 cases thought to be infected in Ireland • Data on country of infection not available for the remaining 9 cases
Summary of 2012 hepatitis A outbreaks 4 outbreaks reported in 2012 • Outbreak 1: HSE-S, 2 children ill, siblings, no source identified, not travel related • Outbreak 2: HSE-S, 2 adults ill, household and sexual contacts, no source identified, not travel related • Outbreak 3: HSE-E, 2 children ill, infected in Sudan • Outbreak 4: HSE-E, 2 children ill, no source identified, not travel related
Geographic distribution of hepatitis A virus infection (Source CDC, Atlanta, USA)