A Guide for Food service and Retail Outlets - Practise Food Hygiene to Prevent Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E
Viral hepatitis is the inflammation of liver caused by virus. The disease is mainly caused by five different hepatitis viruses known as types
A to E, of which types A and E are related to contaminated food or water.
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A may cause symptoms like an abrupt onset of fever, malaise, anorexia, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine and jaundice in adults.
Infected young children are often without symptoms. The incubation period ranges from 15 days to 50 days (average: 28 to 30 days). Hepatitis A virus is excreted in faeces of infected people which can contaminate water or food. As shellfish live in water and filter out minute living organisms as food, they can be easily contaminated by hepatitis A virus. People may contract hepatitis A after consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish harvested from contaminated waters and fresh produces nourished with contaminated water. In addition, food handlers can spread hepatitis A virus through cross-contamination with affected food, or by being hepatitis A virus carriers themselves and with poor personal hygiene.
