hepatitis A

Definition of hepatitis A

: an acute usually benign hepatitis that is caused by a picornavirus (species Hepatitis A virus of the genus Hepatovirus), is marked by fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, darkened urine, and jaundice but may be asymptomatic, especially in children, and is transmitted especially in food and water contaminated with infected fecal matter

Note: Unlike other forms of hepatitis, hepatitis A is a short-term illness that does not progress to a chronic condition and does not typically cause permanent liver damage.

— called also infectious hepatitis

Examples of hepatitis A in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web For instance, some existing vaccines against polio, hepatitis A, and rabies use this method. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "The Ars COVID-19 vaccine primer: 100-plus in the works, 8 in clinical trials," 1 May 2020 Ralph said King County had been considering buying the Econo Lodge for some time, potentially as a location for isolating people with hepatitis A, measles and tuberculosis. — Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg.com, "Coronavirus Motel Ignites Clash at Epicenter of Seattle Outbreak," 29 Apr. 2020 Environmental surveillance, for example, sampling of sewage has been used successfully in monitoring enteric virus circulation such as hepatitis A, adenovirus among others. — Sahana Ghosh, Quartz India, "Can human poop help track the spread of coronavirus in Indian localities?," 15 Apr. 2020 That's especially important because there are nasty germs and bacteria out there that don't have soft, fatty bellies that soap bubbles can attack -- such as hepatitis A virus, poliovirus, meningitis and pneumonia. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, "Why soap, sanitizer and warm water work against Covid-19 and other viruses," 24 Mar. 2020 Add in a rural drug epidemic that only two years ago helped fuel the nation’s largest and deadliest hepatitis A outbreak. — Chris Kenning, The Courier-Journal, "Why the coronavirus couldn't have come at a worse time for reeling Appalachian Kentucky," 21 Mar. 2020 The jail confirmed in 2018 that at least four to five inmates were diagnosed with hepatitis A, which sickened close to 5,000 Kentuckians during that statewide outbreak. — Ben Tobin, The Courier-Journal, "Bullitt County jail lockdown lifted after several inmates had fever, flu-like symptoms," 10 Mar. 2020 Ralph said King County had been considering buying the Econo Lodge for some time, potentially as a location for isolating people with hepatitis A, measles and tuberculosis. — Noah Buhayar And Nic Querolo / Bloomberg, Time, "Local Residents Complain Over Plans For Coronavirus Motel at Epicenter of Seattle Outbreak," 6 Mar. 2020 Air travel is a way to spread many virulent infectious diseases, including diphtheria, hepatitis A, influenza A and B, measles, mumps, meningococcus, rubella, tuberculosis, norovirus – the list goes on. — Keith Joiner, The Conversation, "Airplanes spread diseases quickly – so maybe unvaccinated people shouldn’t be allowed to fly," 26 Feb. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hepatitis A.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

23 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Hepatitis A.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hepatitis%20A. Accessed 29 May. 2020.

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More Definitions for hepatitis A

hepatitis A

noun

\ -ˈā

Medical Definition of hepatitis A

Note: Unlike other forms of hepatitis, hepatitis A is a short-term illness that does not progress to a chronic condition and does not typically cause permanent liver damage.

— called also infectious hepatitis

— see havrix