Symptoms of hepatitis A include:
- fever
- weakness
- fatigue
- loss of appetite
- nausea
- joint aches and pains
- vomiting, and
- jaundice (yellowish eyes and skin, dark urine and pale-coloured faeces).
The duration of the illness varies but most people feel better and their Liver Function Tests (LFTs) begin to normalise a month after the onset of infection. Hepatitis A infection never causes a chronic (long-term) infection. Death because of hepatitis A infection is very rare. The likelihood of severe disease or death resulting from hepatitis A infection is much greater in people with pre-existing liver damage, including people with chronic liver disease due to hepatitis B or C, and people over 50 years of age.