Common symptoms for viral Hepatitis A and B are yellowness of the eyes, skin and urine. Jaundice can also be caused by Hepatitis C, D, E and other viruses.
| Through contaminated food and water | Through contaminated blood and body fluids | |
| Hepatitis A (HAV) | Hepatitis B (HBV) | |
| Sources of infections | Ingestion of contaminated water and raw or insufficiently cooked food. Fruits/vegetables/seafood. Cooked food handled by infected individuals. Close person–to–person contact (within families/schools/day care centers etc). |
Contact with infected blood and body fluids. Having sex with infected person or multiple partners. Infected mother to new born. Contaminated IV needles, tattoo/body piercing and sharp instruments. |
| Who is at risk? | Young and adolescent children unexposed to infection in early childhood because of improved standards of living. Household/outside contact with an infected person can lead to infection. | Infant born to an infected mother, people having sex with an infected person or multiple partners, IV drug users, health care workers and hemodialysis patients. |
| Onset of clinical disease | Usually abrupt. | Usually gradual. |
| Clinical symptoms last for | Six weeks to three months. | Six weeks to three months. |
| Severity | Age–dependent. Symptoms more severe and common in adolescents and adults. May require hospitalization occasionally, and in some cases, may lead to death. About 10% of the cases may relapse. | Age–dependent and occasionally severe. May lead to the chronic carrier stage. Can also develop into fulminant hepatitis. |
| Signs and symptoms | Light stools, dark urine, fatigue, fever and jaundice. | Carriers may have no symptoms. Some people may have mild flu–like symptoms – fever, dark urine, light stools, jaundice, fatigue. |
| Treatment | No effective treatment. | Interferon is effective in certain select cases. |
| Prevention | Yes, vaccine is available. Immunoglobulin is also available. |
Yes, vaccine is available. Immunoglobulin is also available. |
| Other preventive measures | Maintain personal hygiene. Eat well cooked food (steaming may not be enough). Drink boiled water only. Ensure proper sewage disposal. | Safe sex. Clean up any infected blood with bleach and wear protective gloves. Do not share razors or toothbrushes. |
Hepatitis in India
India and Hepatitis A
The extra incidence of Hepatitis A in India is not known. Indian literature is replete with numerous reports of sporadic and epidemic occurrences of the disease in various cities, residential colonies and campuses. Epidemics of Hepatitis A often evolve slowly, involve wide geographical areas and last many months, but common source epidemics (e.g., fecal contamination of drinking water) may evolve explosively.
