Hepatitis A Fact Sheet Hepatitis A Hepatitis A is a worldwide disease with a higher prevalence in developing nations where poorer sanitary conditions contribute to its spread. However, this disease still poses a significant health threat in the U.S. Ohio reports approximately 800 cases of Hepatitis A each year. This means that the virus, present in the stool of an infected person, can be contracted by putting something in the mouth that has been contaminated by their feces. Usually this happens indirectly, through eating food prepared by someone who is infected and has not taken hygiene precautions, or by drinking water contaminated by sewage.
Sexual contact can also transmit the virus.
Hepatitis A is caused by hepatitis A virus. Hepatitis A does not have a season in which it occurs more frequently. Hepatitis A virus causes an acute liver disease. These symptoms develop rapidly and more often affect adults than children. A person is most infectious one week before symptoms appear and during the first week of symptoms.