Hepatitis A virus: What you need to know

The article was written by Senior Doctor, Specialist II Tran Khac Dien - General Doctor - Department of Examination - Vinmec Times City International Hospital

Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver, caused by the hepatitis A virus. The disease usually occurs acutely, often spontaneously resolves and does not progress to chronic, only about 1% of severe, life-threatening events.

The cause of hepatitis A is Hepatitis A virus, the virus is transmitted through the gastrointestinal tract, patients are at high risk of disease due to frequent contact with:
Unsanitary food Drinking contaminated water Contamination Sharing chopsticks and spoons with hepatitis patients When infected, some symptoms can be identified such as: fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, loss of appetite, jaundice, itching, sometimes fever. The disease usually has a benign and self-healing course, there are no cases of chronic viral carriers, no cases of cirrhosis, liver cancer caused by hepatitis A virus infection; Only about 1% develop life-threatening fulminant hepatitis.
The diagnosis of Hepatitis A virus is usually based on the symptoms of fatigue, loss of appetite, jaundice... acute manifestations combined with elevated liver enzymes (AST/ALT) in the blood.

Patients infected with hepatitis A virus usually recover on their own, so the treatment of hepatitis A virus disease focuses on rest, using supportive therapies for the liver and biliary system, there is no specific treatment for hepatitis virus. A. In case of fulminant life-threatening illness requiring aggressive therapy.
Hepatitis A virus prevention work focuses on food hygiene and safety and hepatitis A virus vaccination. Currently, in Vietnam, there are 3 types of hepatitis A vaccine being used, The efficiency achieved is over 95% within 20 years.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital is deploying services of hepatitis A vaccine type Avaxim 0.5ml of Sanofi - France, and Havax type 0.5ml of Vaccines and Biologicals One Member LLC. number 1 of Vietnam. These are two hepatitis A vaccines that have been licensed for use in Vietnam.
The advantage of Avaxim and Havax is that they can be substituted for each other in the event of running out of vaccines. In particular, Havax vaccine containing strain HM175 inactivated by formaldehyde and absorbed with aluminum hydroxide effectively prevents hepatitis A and meets the standards recommended by WHO.