Health authorities in Nitra report seeing an outbreak of Hepatitis A that has affected some 50 people in the districts of Zlaté Moravce and Levice in recent weeks, according to a Prague Post report.
The outbreak has prompted the cancellations of after school activities and the initiation of a vaccination campaign that will cover some 1,000 people.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hepatitis A, caused by infection with the Hepatitis A virus (HAV), has an incubation period of approximately 28 days (range: 15–50 days). HAV replicates in the liver and is shed in high concentrations in feces from 2 weeks before to 1 week after the onset of clinical illness. HAV infection produces a self-limited disease that does not result in chronic infection or chronic liver disease.
However, 10%–15% of patients might experience a relapse of symptoms during the 6 months after acute illness. Acute liver failure from Hepatitis A is rare (overall case-fatality rate: 0.5%).
HAV infection is primarily transmitted by the fecal-oral route, by either person-to-person contact or consumption of contaminated food or water. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
