I’m writing my paper on Hepatitis A. It is a Hepatitis A virus (HAV) it is an acute infectious disease caused by Hepatitis A virus an RNA virus (picornavirus). Hepatitis A is an infection that causes inflammation of the liver. The liver removes harmful chemicals from the blood, fights infection; helps digest food, stores nutrients and vitamins, stores energy. You cannot live without a liver. Anyone can get hepatitis A if you travel to different countries, live with someone who has active Hepatitis A, use illegal drugs, have unprotected sex with an infected person. Men having sex with other men are more likely to get Hepatitis A. You can contract Hepatitis A through food or water. If you come in contact with an infected person’s stool, eat food made by an infected person who didn’t wash his/her hands after using the bathroom, drinking untreated water, or eating food wash in untreated water, placing your finger or object in your mouth that came in contact with an infected person’s stool, having close personal contact with an infected person such as through unprotected sex. There was a real life out break in 2003. The largest out break of Hepatitis A in United States history. Richard Miller was a 57 year old male who worked as a railroad superintendent. He went to Chi-Chi’s in Beaver, PA after church one Sunday where he dipped into the house salsa that came with his meal. What he didn’t know was the imported Mexican green onions in the salsa carried the deadly hepatitis A virus. The next day Richard couldn’t even get out of the bed he had the worse flu like symptoms. Richard was diagnosed with a rare fulminant Hepatitis A disease. He was rushed to Pittsburgh hospital for a liver transplant. Richard was placed in an induced coma for one month. He returned home frail and unable to work. Richard still says he has mobility problems and neurological difficulties. Four others who ate at this restaurant died and over six hundred people were sick this became the largest Hepatitis A out break ever in the United States history. The symptoms for Hepatitis A is there are no symptoms. Most people do not have symptoms, but if symptoms do occur there are; feeling tired, muscle soreness, upset stomach pain, diarrhea, dark-yellow urine, light-colored stool, yellowish eyes and skin called jaundice. Symptoms can occur two too seven weeks after coming in contact with the Hepatitis A virus. Children under six may have no symptoms. Older children and adults may get mild, flu like symptoms. A blood test will show if you have the Hepatitis A virus. Hepatitis gets better in a few weeks without treatment. However, some people can have symptoms for up to six months. Doctors may suggest medication to help relieve symptoms. See your doctor regularly to make sure your body has recovered. If symptoms persist after six months see your doctor again. You can avoid getting Hepatitis A by getting two Hepatitis A vaccine shots. You get one shot then six months to twelve months you get the second shot. Children twelve to twenty three months old should be vaccinated. Adults and people with chronic liver problems should get vaccinated. You can also prevent getting Hepatitis A by washing your hands after using the bathroom, changing dirty diapers, fixing food, eating. Use bottled water for drinking purposes or when making ice cubes, wash fruits and vegetables with filtered water. Tell doctor and dentist that you have Hepatitis A.