DISEASE NAME:
Hepatitis A
CATEGORY:
Hepatitis
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A infection is an acute disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus. The virus is spread from person to person by the faecal-oral route (that is, ingestion of something that has been contaminated with the faeces of an infected person). The virus is shed in the faeces of infected people, and household or sexual contacts of cases may become infected. Symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain and jaundice. Some people experience a fairly mild illness and recover within a couple of weeks. Other people develop more severe symptoms and may take months to fully recover. Older people are more likely to have more severe symptoms and some infected children do not have any symptoms at all. Hepatitis A became notifiable in 1981.
Number of hepatitis A notifications and notification rate per 100,000 population, 2004-2022
Last updated: 7 June 2023
Case definition
Clinical criteria* (for probable case)
Any person with a discrete onset of symptoms (e.g. fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, intermittent nausea and vomiting)
AND
At least one of the following three:
- Fever
- Jaundice
- Elevated serum aminotransferase levels
Laboratory criteria
At least one of the following three:
- Detection of hepatitis A virus nucleic acid in serum or stool
- Hepatitis A virus specific IgM antibody response
- Detection of hepatitis A virus antigen in stool
Epidemiological criteria
At least one of the following four:
- Human to human transmission
- Exposure to a common source
- Exposure to contaminated food/drinking water
- Environmental exposure
Case classification
A. Possible case
NA
B. Probable case
Any person meeting the clinical criteria and with an epidemiological link
C. Confirmed case
Any person meeting the laboratory criteria
*Note: Asymptomatic cases are common in young children
Current as of: 28 May 2018
Information, Data and Reports for Hepatitis A
Ireland’s specialist service for the surveillance of communicable diseases.