This site is intended for healthcare professionals

account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Prevention

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Prevention by isolation of patients and contacts is rarely effective as the virus is excreted in the faeces for as long as two weeks before the appearance of jaundice.

Advice on good hygiene is the cornerstone of prevention e.g. - thorough hand washing after toilet use and before handling food and avoiding exposure to contaminated food and water when in countries of high and intermediate endemicity (1).

Immunization against hepatitis A can be either

  • passive immunisation with immune serum globulin
    • is recommended for providing post exposure prophylaxis to close personal contacts of sufferers
    • will provide protection against hepatitis A if given within 14 days of exposure and if given after may modify the disease (2)
    • provides protection for 4-6 months (2)
    • preliminary testing for anti-HAV avoids giving immunoglobulin indiscriminately.
  • active immunisation with hepatitis A vaccines
    • has now replaced immune globulin in many non-emergency situations
    • the high incidence of hepatitis A is such that it is the most common infection in travellers that may be prevented by vaccination.
    • there is some evidence about hepatitis A vaccine providing effective prophylaxis in contacts of sufferers (if given soon enough) (2)

Both vaccine and immunoglobulins can be used together (but in different sites) when rapid and prolonged protection is required (2).

Reference:

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page