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

Without supervision, a nurse at Dilley gave adult-strength hepatitis A shots to about 250 children in 2015, the American Immigration Lawyers Association reported. —Arkansas Online, 1 Mar. 2026

Without supervision, a nurse at Dilley gave adult-strength hepatitis A shots to about 250 children in 2015, the American Immigration Lawyers Association reported. —ABC News, 28 Feb. 2026

These vaccines — which include immunizations for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, COVID-19 and the flu — are now only recommended for children at high risk of serious illness, which runs contrary to guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. —Keri Heath, Austin American Statesman, 27 Feb. 2026

Cases of tetanus, whooping cough, and hepatitis A have also risen in recent years. —Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 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