Hepatitis A Vaccination (英文)
What is hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is one type of viral hepatitis. In general, it is transmitted by eating contaminated and improperly cooked food, especially shellfish. Contaminated water or other beverages can also transmit the infection. Whereas hepatitis A is a relatively mild disease in children, it is more serious in adults, causing fever, fatigue, muscle pains, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhoea, jaundice and tea-coloured urine. In a few cases, the liver may be severely affected but mortality due to hepatitis A is rare.
People who have been naturally infected are immune to the disease for the rest of their lives.
Is it a serious problem in Hong Kong
As sanitary standards and living conditions gradually improve, hepatitis A is no longer a common disease in Hong Kong. Cases of hepatitis A reported to the Department of Health average about a few hundred annually. Since the majority of those below 30 years of age have never been exposed to hepatitis A, a significant proportion of our population are susceptible. Under these circumstances, an epidemic of hepatitis A might easily occur if we happen to relax our hygiene standards.
How can we prevent hepatitis A?
To effectively prevent hepatitis A, you need to pay close attention to personal, food and environmental hygiene.
Personal hygiene-
- wash your hands before preparing or eating food
- remember to flush the toilet and wash your hands before you leave the restroom
Food hygiene-
- drink only boiled water
- all food, especially shellfish, should be thoroughly cleaned and well cooked. (The hepatitis A virus dies within five minutes at 100o C)
- do not contaminate cooked food with your unwashed hands or unclean water
Environmental hygiene-
- handle contaminated water and sewage properly
- store your drinking water in clean and properly topped containers to avoid contamination
- keep cooking utensils and tableware clean
In addition, vaccination against hepatitis A is effective in preventing the infection.
What is hepatitis A vaccination?
The hepatitis A vaccine is essentially an inactivated form of the virus, approved for use as a vaccine in people above 2 years of age. On injection into the deltoid muscle, the vaccine stimulates the production of antibodies against the hepatitis A virus. The success rate exceeds 94%. Many believe that the immunity which results can last for more than 10 years.
Do I need the hepatitis A vaccine?
To date there is no firm evidence to help decide who must get the vaccine. The following are some of the factors that you should consider before you decide whether the vaccine is appropriate for you.
- most people in Hong Kong who are above 40 have already been exposed to hepatitis A and therefore immune to the virus
- frequent travellers to places where hepatitis A is highly endemic run the risk of consuming contaminated water and food and getting infected
- people who have the habit of eating uncooked shellfish stand a higher chance of being infected
- date abroad indicate that homo-and bi-sexuality are risk factors of the infection
- infected workers of the food industry, eg. restaurant attendants and chefs, have the potential of spreading the infection if they are not careful with personal, food or environmental hygiene
How is the vaccine administered?
To induce immunity, the vaccine has to be administered twice, into the deltoid muscle. The second injection is given 6-12 months after the first.
How good is the protection offered by vaccination?
Vaccination takes one month before immunity appears, and it takes two injectionsto achieve a long-lasting effect. Protection against infection is good but also specific. No other infectious agent but hepatitis A is prevented. In fact, quite a few infections are transmitted in the same way as hepatitis A,eg. cholera, dysentery, typhoid, Salmonella food poisoning, and numerous parasites. To effectively prevent all of these infections, one must maintain good personal, food and environmental hygiene.
Where can I get the vaccination?
If you think that hepatitis A vaccination suits your needs, please ask your family doctor for arrangement of injections.
What if I think I have got hepatitis A?
If you suspect hepatitis A,
- Consult your doctor and consider blood tests
- Do not take over-the-counter medications without the doctor's advice
- Abstain from alcohol
- Be extra careful in maintaining your personal and food hygiene to avoid transmitting the infection to others
- 相关内容延伸阅读 ⇓
- 01. 孕妇感染甲肝怎么办11674
- 02. 准妈妈 如何远离甲肝12553
- 03. 甲肝潜伏期12640
- 04. 甲肝三种传播方式介绍10626
- 05. 甲肝饮食宜忌须牢记10012
- 06. 甲肝一般不会复发 患急性甲肝应该吃什么药?11815
热门阅读
- 01. 乙肝治疗五大戒律
- 02. 全民乙肝防治专项活动启动
- 03. 甲肝饮食有哪些注意点
- 04. 胃出血引起肝硬化
- 05. 乙肝会通过性生活传染
- 06. 酒精肝对身体的危害有哪些?
- 07. 肝腹水是晚期肝硬化的征兆 7个症状警示肝硬化晚期
- 08. 乙肝病毒携带者能吃葡萄干吗?
- 09. 慢性肝病患者可以吃转基因食品吗?
- 10. 在家中肝炎病毒常用的消毒方法
图片推荐
王子莲:乙肝妈妈的饮食营养治疗 低GI食物+运动等量法则
在乙肝病毒携带孕妇的并发症中,妊娠期糖尿病(GDM)发病率比普通人群(非乙肝携带者)要高,风险比较大。王子莲教授说,对任何疾病,营养治疗都是一种基本的支持治疗法,可提供能量和营养素,全面调节体内代谢,
肝癌有三大高危人群 介入微创早期肝癌可根治
2013年3月18日是第十三届全国爱肝日,在全国爱肝日来临之际,家庭医生在线采访了南方医院肝脏肿瘤中心郭亚兵主任,请郭主任为大家讲讲关于肝癌方面的知识。 郭主任强调,酒精是引起肝癌的一个很重要的因素
酒精肝占比20% 成肝病头号杀手
乙肝最关键是控制病毒。专家何清说,乙肝的危害是慢慢发展的。 肝脏原本像嘴唇般柔软,在病毒的侵蚀下,逐渐斑化,慢慢变成鼻梁、额头一样的硬,就是肝硬化。肝硬化后,肝脏正常代谢功能受到影响。 针刺、性接
安钧璨为何年仅32岁就会得肝癌?
可米小子安钧璨逝世时年仅32岁,为何年纪轻轻就会患上肝癌呢? 据了解安钧璨原本就是乙型肝炎病毒携带者,有肝硬化的病史,2013年已被诊断出患有肝癌,但是当时体内仅有一、两颗肿瘤,后来经治疗病情也获得
香港大学研究发现抗氧化物助长肝癌细胞
抗氧化物被视为可以防癌,但香港大学医学院的动物实验发现,抗氧化物反而会刺激肝癌细胞生长,建议肝癌患者应避免服用高剂量的抗氧化物补充剂,如维他命A、C或E。 港大医学院的相关研究成果已刊载于《美国国家
男子两年前被确诊肝癌晚期 坚持跑步让他重获新生
当有人告诉你,你的生命只剩三个月了,你会有什么样的感受?两年前,陈烈松就经历了这一幕,医生告诉他,他被确诊肝癌中晚期,只有三个月的生命。为此,他丢了工作,开始了痛苦漫长的化疗疗程。养家的担子也落在妻子
因为专业 所以领先——记肝病医院
肝病是人类的大敌。在病毒性肝炎的治疗上,目前国家还没有理想的药物。众多专家对此无可奈何,束手无策。 为何肝病医院能仁济众生、德行天下,深得患者信赖? 专业化——特色专科打造品牌医院 肝病医院是国家重点
福瑞股份爱肝一生引领2016中国肝病防治四大新趋势
近年来,随着我国互联网+的提出,医疗行业融入互联网的步伐在明显加快,医疗APP发展极为迅猛。有关机构预测,我国移动医疗市场明年将达到125亿元左右规模。 在整个移动医疗产业中,慢性病由于发病复杂、潜