Hepatitis A
How is Hepatitis A Transmitted?
The Hepatitis A virus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route. This means that transmission occurs when the Hepatitis A virus embedded in the feces of an infected person enters the digestive tract of another person. The virus enters the mouth through infected unwashed hands and/or contaminated food or water, passes from the stomach to the small intestine, and then gains entry into the liver where replication of the virus occurs. After the virus multiplies in the liver, it passes through the bile ducts to the intestines, where it mixes with stool and is eliminated from the body.
Transmission occurs primarily through person-to-person contact and ingestion of contaminated food and water. Unsanitary living conditions and poor personal hygiene standards increase the risk of becoming infected with Hepatitis A. Uncooked food that is prepared by an HAV-infected person who did not properly wash his/her hands after defecating can transmit the virus. Raw or incompletely cooked shellfish such as oysters, clams and mussels have a particularly high incidence of transmitting the Hepatitis A virus because they live in bodies of water that may be polluted with HAV.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Hepatitis A Information for the Public" http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/A/index.htm Retrieved February 9, 2011
Dolan, Mathew, The Hepatitis Handbook. North Atlantic Books, 1999.
Hepatitis Foundation International. "The ABC's of Hepatitis" http://www.hepfi.org/living/liv_abc.html Retrieved February 9, 2011.
Mayo Clinic. "Hepatitis A" http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hepatitis-a/DS00397 Retrieved February 9, 2011.
Palmer, MD, Melissa. Dr. Melissa Palmer’s Guide to Hepatitis & Liver Disease. New York: Avery Trade, 2004.