micro discussion week 10

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California State University, Fullerton *

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302

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Medicine

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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Hepatitis A is a water-borne illness that is caused by HAV (Hepatitis A Virus). HAV is classified as a hepatovirus, which is a small, non-enveloped symmetrical RNA virus that causes Hepatitis through the fecal-oral route. Some symptoms of Hepatitis A include fatigue, jaundice (yellowish hue to the skin), nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain (especially in the right upper quadrant near the liver), fevers, and loss of appetite (Zuckerman, 1996). People become infected with Hepatitis A through the consumption of contaminated food or water, and can also contract this infection if they come into close contact with someone who has the virus (Lifewater, 2019). After HAV is ingested via the fecal oral-route, it is ultimately delivered to the liver because the virus is able to survive in the stomach, due to its ability to withstand low pH and ambient temperatures. HAV replicates in the liver cells and is secreted into the bile and then back into the gastrointestinal tract. It is excreted by feces or will become transferred to the liver through an enterohepatic cycle (from liver to bile to small intestine and back to liver), and will continue with this cycle until the virus is neutralized. However, HAV is a very stable virus and is able to shed in feces via the intestinal tracts, which preserves its ability to infect its host and can cause more serious effects such as, acute liver failure (ALF), which is rare in most cases. Hepatitis A can be spread to others without being known because of asymptomatic presentations, the ability of the virus to be present in the feces and blood for 10 to 12 days after infection, and the excretion of the virus being able to last up to 3 weeks after onset (Shin & Jeong, 2018). Hepatitis A is the most rampant in developing countries and regions such as Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Western Pacific, and Central and South America. Hepatitis A can also affect people who travel to developing countries or work in rural communities that do not have proper sanitation and hygiene management as well as struggles with access to clean water (Lifewater, 2019). The best way to prevent Hepatitis A is vaccination. In 1995, the Hepatitis A vaccine became available in the U.S. and since then the rate of HAV infection declined by 95 percent.Other important measures to prevent HAV infections include proper handwashing practices (especially before preparing foods), avoiding tap water and raw foods due to poor sanitation, and heating food properly (because the virus can be inactivated at temperatures greater than 185 degrees F) (Chopra & Lai, 2019). Sources: Chopra, S., & Lai, M. (2019). UpToDate . Uptodate.com. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/hepatitis-a-virus-infection-treatment-and- prevention

Lifewater. (2019, May 23). 7 Most Common Waterborne Diseases (and How to Prevent Them) . Lifewater International. https://lifewater.org/blog/7-most- common-waterborne-diseases-and-how-to-prevent-them/ Shin, E.-C., & Jeong, S.-H. (2018). Natural History, Clinical Manifestations, and Pathogenesis of Hepatitis A. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine , 8 (9), a031708. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a031708 Zuckerman, A. J. (1996). Hepatitis Viruses (S. Baron, Ed.). PubMed; University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7864/#:~:text=Hepatitis%20A%20virus %20(HAV)%2C

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micro discussion week 10

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