Illustration – Hepatitis A. Photo: Pixabay.com
jpnn.com, JAKARTA – Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection and is usually short-term. Unlike hepatitis B and C which can become chronic, hepatitis A is acute.
Hepatitis A has been identified as the leading cause of fulminant liver failure in a number of countries such as Korea, Argentina and Brazil.
“In countries with high endemicity, hepatitis A virus infection is usually found in poor sanitary and socioeconomic conditions. Infection usually occurs before the child is five years old, “said Vaccine Medical Director of GlaxoSmithKline Indonesia (GSK), dr. Deliana Permatasari in Jakarta, Saturday (10/10/2020).
He explained that hepatitis A is caused by the hepatitis A virus. This virus can be found in the feces and blood of infected people.
Contact with this virus can occur in a variety of scenarios. First, it can spread from direct and close contact with an infected individual. For example, when treating those who have hepatitis A.
“Hepatitis A is so contagious, even those infected with the hepatitis A virus can spread this virus before they feel the symptoms of hepatitis A,” Deliana explained.
Second, infection through contaminated food or drink. Food contaminated with the hepatitis A virus can occur at any time, from the manufacturing stage to after the food is cooked. Contamination of food and drink is often encountered on a daily basis.
According to Deliana, not everyone who is infected with hepatitis A will have symptoms. Symptoms of hepatitis A are generally encountered when the virus infects adults rather than children.
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