Hepatitis due to all these viruses presents clinically in a very similar fashion, especially during the acute phase of the illness. Thus a specific diagnosis can only be made in the laboratory. Jaundice is the hall mark of infection, but tends to develop late.
Anicteric cases are also very common.
There is currently no treatment for hepatitis A, although rest and proper nutrition can relieve some symptoms. The most important factor affecting the severity of the disease is age. Children less than a year old rarely show clinical signs of the illness. This means that parent and child-care workers handling soiled diapers can catch or transmit the disease without knowing they have been exposed. Clinical manifestations of hepatitis A often pass unrecognized in children younger than two years of age.