This liver disease is caused by the hepatitis A virus. It differs from other types of hepatitis, such as hepatitis B or C.
Hepatitis A is most often transmitted by eating food or drinking water containing the hepatitis A virus. It is most often transmitted when traveling in parts of the world where hepatitis A is more common than in Canada. Contaminated sources may include :
the ice
raw or undercooked shellfish
raw or frozen fruits and vegetables (peel them yourself to reduce the risk)
Hepatitis A can also be transmitted :
- eating food prepared by an infected person
- from one person to another (rarely):
- contact with the stools of an infected person
- through sexual contact with an infected person
- changing the diaper or cleaning the stool of an infected person
- through blood transfusions or the sharing of needles for injecting drugs
Even if you have no symptoms, you can infect other people. Infected children and infants often have no symptoms, unlike infected adults.
The virus can be transmitted up to two weeks before the onset of symptoms. You can continue to infect others for about a week after the onset of jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes).
Source: Health Canada