Vaccination against hepatitis A is advisable if you’re travelling to countries with poor levels of sanitation and hygiene, and countries where hepatitis A is common. Consult a travel clinic for hepatitis A vaccine if you’re travelling to:
- Sub-Saharan and North Africa
- the Middle East
- Asia
- South and Central America
- Eastern Europe
The vaccination against hepatitis A is generallyadministered as a single initial injection, with a second dose 6 to 12 months later. Two doses should provide you with protection for at least 25 years.You should ideally have the initial dose at least 2 weeks priorto the departure, even though it can be administered up to the day of departure if needed.
Illness is not usually grave but in some cases can lead to liver failure. Not everyone infected with hepatitis A gets symptoms and in most of those who do, they are generally mild. But elderly people and those with weakened immune system have a higher risk of severe hepatitis A infection.
The most common symptoms include:
- feeling tired and generally unwell
- loss of appetite, feeling or being sick
- a mild temperature (fever)
- yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
- sore or upset tummy, diarrhea
- itchy rash
For most people, symptoms generally clear up fully within a few days to weeks without leading to any long term liver damage. But in rare cases, some people might go on to develop more grave symptoms which can lead to stoppage of proper functioning of the liver. This condition is liver failure.People who recover from hepatitis A ailment will develop lifelong immunity.
Protective measures other than vaccine
Hepatitis A is a liver ailment caused by hepatitis A virus. You contract hepatitis A by ingesting the virus in food or drink that contains it, or touching your mouth with your hands that have picked up the virus originating from infected poo.
This makes following protective measures mandatory for travelers to keep away Hepatitis A infection:
- taking hand hygiene seriously
- never compromising on food and water precautions
Above mentioned precautions are secondary to vaccination. Hepatitis A vaccination is recommended for:
- all people visiting countries where the risk of hepatitis A is high
- certain people who are at considerably higher risk of infection by virtue of their job or lifestyle, or have an amplified chance of becoming severely ill with the infection, such as:
- men who have sex with other men
- close contactwith someone with hepatitis A
- people who inject illegal drugs
- people who can get exposed to hepatitis A due to their job