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Frequently
Asked Questions?
How do people get hepatitis A?
Hepatitis
A is found in the stool of persons with hepatitis
A. The virus is usually spread through person-to-person
contact or through contaminated food and water.
For example, you can get hepatitis A from an infected
child if you don't wash your hands after changing
a diaper or from an infected person if they don't
wash their hands after going to the bathroom.
If the fecal contaminant somehow gets on food
- for example, if a contaminated cook handles
food in a restaurant - the disease can spread
quickly. A person can also get hepatitis A by
drinking water that is contaminated with the virus
or by eating food washed in contaminated water,
such as raw or undercooked shellfish, salads,
or unpeeled fruits.
Who is at increased risk of hepatitis A?
Children,
teens, and adults who may be at high risk of hepatitis
A or who could transmit the disease to others
if they become infected include:
>
Persons traveling to areas of higher endemicity
for hepatitis A. These areas include but are not
limited to, Africa, Asia (except Japan), the Mediterranean
basin, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central
and South America, Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean
> Persons living
in or relocating to any community in the U.S. or
abroad with one or more recorded hepatitis A outbreaks
within the past 5 years
> Military personnel
> Persons who engage
in high-risk sexual activity
> Users of illicit
injectable drugs
> Hemophiliacs and
other recipients of therapeutic blood products
> Employees of day-care
centers
> Institutional
care workers
Laboratory workers who handle live hepatitis A virus
> Handlers of primate
animals that may be harboring hepatitis A virus
Why is hepatitis A
called a travel disease?
Hepatitis A is sometimes called a travel
disease because it is the most frequently occurring,
vaccine- preventable infection in travelers. Each
year, approximately 24 million people from the
United States visit, either on business or as
tourists, areas where hepatitis A is endemic.
The incidence of hepatitis A disease in travelers
increases with the length of travel and is highest
for those who stay in or visit rural areas, trek
in back country, or frequently eat or drink in
areas with poor sanitary conditions. However,
many travelers falsely assume that the risk of
hepatitis A is present only under these conditions.
In fact, hepatitis A can also occur among travelers
who stay only in urban areas and luxury hotels.
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