What is it?
Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus. The disease is highly contagious. In young children the virus usually causes hardly any symptoms, whereas in older children and adults it can cause jaundice. Hepatitis A can also go unnoticed. The disease occurs mainly in Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Eastern Europe and around the Mediterranean. In exceptional cases hepatitis A is life-threatening.
Symptoms may include:
- fatigue
- nausea
- fever
- reduced appetite
- abdominal pain
- yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes
- dark, cola-coloured urine
- pale stools
How do you catch it?
You can become infected with the hepatitis A virus through contact with people who have hepatitis A and by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with faeces. The risk of infection increases the poorer the hygienic conditions are. Hepatitis A usually lasts no longer than 6 weeks, but the symptoms can persist for up to 3 months.
How do you prevent it?
You can reduce the risk of infection with the hepatitis A virus by taking good hygiene measures, such as washing your hands before preparing food, before eating and after using the toilet. A vaccination can prevent infection. A course of two vaccinations provides protection for at least 15 years (a single vaccination gives only 1 year of protection). There must be at least 6 months between the first and the second vaccination.
In addition to the conditions at your destination, your personal circumstances and travel plans are decisive factors in the preparations you may want or need to make before you travel. At Amsterdam Travel Clinic you can come to us for expert travel-health advice and the above-mentioned vaccination. We keep the vaccine in stock.
The above description is only a general, brief and simple account and is intended purely for information. No rights can be derived from it. Personal advice is given exclusively during a consultation with a specially trained Certified Travel Medicine Doctor or Travel Medicine Assistant.