Hepatitis A history and symptoms

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection can be either asymptomatic or symptomatic.^[1] Symptoms of hepatitis A include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and jaundice.

Young children who are infected with hepatitis A typically have a milder form of the disease, usually lasting from 1-3 weeks, whereas adults tend to experience a much more severe form of the disease. Some patients, particularly young children, are asymptomatic. When symptoms are present, they usually occur abruptly. Symptomatic adult patients may have a range of symptoms that can vary in severity from a mild flu-like illness to fulminant hepatitis.Symptoms of hepatitis A infection include the following:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Dark urine
• Clay-colored stool
• Joint pain
• Jaundice (children younger than 6 years of age typically do not show jaundice, while more that 70% of older patients do.)
• Pruritus

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