Hepatitis A virus (HAV) usually causes a relatively benign form of hepatitis that is self-limited.
Incubation period: mean 4 weeks (range 2 to 7 weeks)
Duration of illness: mean 4 weeks, but can be up to 3 months. Following infection it may take some time for the person to convalesce and return to the pre-infection level of activity.
Clinical findings:
(1) often jaundice (although it may be anicteric, especially in children)
(2) anorexia
(3) nausea and vomiting
(4) malaise
(5) fever
(6) abdominal pain
(7) headache
(8) dark-colored urine
(9) hepatomegaly with tenderness on palpation
(10) occasionally splenomegaly
(11) occasionally bradycardia
Laboratory findings:
(1) elevated serum total bilirubin
(2) conjugated hyperbilirubinuria
(3) elevation of serum AST and ALT
(4) elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase
(5) seroconversion with appearance of IgM antibodies to HAV
(6) presence of viral particles, antigen or RNA in blood or feces
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