Hepatitis A, is caused by the consumption of either food or water contaminated by feces. HAV is the common name of the infectious agent that causes hepatitis. It is commonly known by the obvious name Hepatitis. There are three forms of Hepatitis, A, B, and C. The version that is spread through food and water however is Hepatitis A. It is an RNA virus classified as a picornavirus.
The infection is spread through food and water, by contamination usually related to feces of some sort. Food handlers, who come in contact with feces, don’t properly sanitize, then handle your food, can spread it that way. Ice, contaminated shellfish, again, harvested from sewage-contaminated waters, or in some cases, contaminated fruit has also been known to carry the virus as well. It is often shed in the fecal matter of infected people, then, again, not properly sanitizing, then handling food, causes the spread to continue.
The clinical symptoms, are typically asymptomatic, or may range in a mild illness lasting 1-2 weeks, to even a severely disabling illness lasting several months. Clinical symptoms include, an abrupt onset of a fever, malaise, dark colored urine, anorexia, nausea, abdominal discomfort, followed by several days, or even weeks of jaundice as well. Age can play a factor in how long the symptoms last, worse in younger, less severe in older people, and can also affect how serious the effects are as well. The incubation period is roughly 28 days. The treatment unfortunately, is supportive care only.
Prevention is to be vaccinated with immune globulin, and take make extra sure to be very cautious during any kind of food and water preparation. Because it is known to be more prevalent in other countries, depending on the duration or frequency of traveling, anyone susceptible, should be vaccinated before venturing into other countries with higher risk of infection, or where it is more commonly found. Environmental precautions should range from, taking the proper safety measures from who and where food is imported from, and sanitation should be in very high regard for anyone handling the food.
The most recent outbreak found in the United States, was that of 162 people, who were found infected by consuming Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend, in 10 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wisconsin. It is believed that the outbreak was a result of pomegranate seeds from Turkey. Turkey is a country known to have higher risks of Hepatitis A than the United States. Most of the infected by the outbreak were younger, but some adults also were infected by the shipment.