hepatitis A

noun

: an acute usually benign hepatitis that is caused by a picornavirus (Hepatovirus ahepa), 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

And the agency recommends that vaccines that protect against meningococcal bacteria and hepatitis A and B be given to children in high-risk groups only. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 14 Jan. 2026

Several vaccines — including flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, some meningococcal vaccines and RSV — are no longer broadly recommended and now fall under shared decision-making or are advised only for high-risk groups. —FOXNews.com, 13 Jan. 2026

As of this week, vaccines that protect against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, RSV, flu and meningococcal disease are no longer universally recommended for kids. —Laura Ungar, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026

Rather than a broad recommendation for all children, vaccines against meningitis, hepatitis A and B, dengue, and RSV will now be recommended only for high-risk groups. —Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

hepatitis A

noun

-ˈā 

: an acute usually benign hepatitis that is caused by a picornavirus (Hepatovirus ahepa), 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, infectious jaundice

see havrix