The disease is rarely fatal and most people recover in a few weeks without any complications. Infants and young children tend to have very mild symptoms and are less likely to develop jaundice than are older children and adults. Not everyone who is infected will have all of the symptoms. The symptoms may appear two to six weeks after exposure, but usually within four weeks. The contagious period begins about two weeks before the symptoms appear.
Most people are probably no longer contagious after the first week of jaundice.
There is no carrier state. An individual who has recovered from hepatitis A is immune for life and does not continue to carry the virus. There are no special medicines or antibiotics that can be used to treat a person once the symptoms appear. The single most effective way to prevent spread is careful handwashing after using the toilet or changing diapers and before eating or preparing food. Also, infected people should not handle foods during the contagious period.