Hepatitis A virus

BackgroundHepatitis A virus (HAV) can cause liver inflammation.  HAV is highly contagious.  The most common method of transmission of this virus is from the infected persons through the fecal-oral route.  When infected persons use the restroom and do not wash their hands thoroughly, undetected amounts of stool can contaminate the food they subsequently handle.  This food, when ingested by another individual, can cause infection.  It can also spread from person to person if they are in close contact with the infected individual. Children under six years of age are usually asymptomatic (have no symptoms), but infected adults can have symptoms that can last up to 2 months.  In 10-15% of the infected adults, the symptoms can last for up to six months.  Symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, joint pain, and jaundice (yellowing of eyes and skin).  Symptoms can appear 3-4 weeks after exposure and the likelihood of symptoms appearing increases with age.The easiest method of preventing HAV infection is by vaccination.  The number of Hepatitis A cases fell after the vaccine was introduced in 1995.  Hepatitis A vaccine has been a part of routine childhood immunizations in the U.S. since 2006. Hepatitis A is of particular concern when Food Service workers are infected or are in contact with someone who is infected.  This can result in HAV outbreaks when the infected workers handle food.  Recently in Salt Lake City, Utah, in response to the ongoing HAV outbreak, the county Board of Heath amended “Health Regulation #5: Food Sanitation,” requiring all the food workers in an establishment to be vaccinated if even only one of them has been in contact with a person who is infected with HAV.The Prompt: What you need to do.Read the Food Safety News article provided (link below). http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2018/02/county-requires-hepatitis-a-vaccines-for-some-food-workers/#.Wnx0Hq6nGUk (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Do your own scientific research.  Find one or more peer-reviewed publications from scientific journals or credible government organizations to build your knowledge on this topic.  You will need to understand: