Casual contact (shaking hands, breathing the same air, even kissing) will not spread the virus from one person to another.  

HAV is spread through fecal matter.  The most common way to catch it is when someone does not wash their hands after using the bathroom and then handles food or food service items. (In doctor talk, this is called “fecal-oral transmission”).  The other way to catch it is by drinking water than has been contaminated by sewage.  Because of this, hepatitis A is most commonly found in communities that have poor sanitation practices.

Many people who have Hepatitis A don’t exhibit any symptoms.  The younger you are, the less likely that you will exhibit any symptoms.  

In most cases, the only sure way to know if you have hepatitis A is with the results of a blood test. 

For those that do experience some symptoms, they so closely resemble the flu that you might not even know you have something out of the ordinary. 

Possible Symptoms of Hepatitis A:

• Fever
• Tiredness
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Abdominal discomfort
• Dark urine
• Jaundice (Yellow looking skin and eyes)