Hepatitis A (infectious hepatitis) is transmitted through personal contact, or through contaminated food or water. The incubation time for the disease is 4-6 weeks. The illness tends to be more severe in adults.
Hepatitis B (serum hepatitis) is transmitted in children mainly via needle injuries. Children in institutions are also at slightly greater risk of being infected. In adults the risk is greatest amongst drug users who share needles.
All forms of hepatitis present a similar clinical picture, although hepatitis A tends to be more sudden in onset than hepatitis B. With hepatitis A, the child usually experiences initial symptoms of tiredness, fever, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea. The skin may feel very itchy, and the abdomen may be a little swollen and sore, especially over the upper right side overlying the liver. After several days the urine may appear to be darker and the skin take on a yellow tinge (jaundice). Convalescence may take several weeks. If your child has hepatitis B, he may at first complain of aching joints and may have a skin rash. Hepatitis B tends to be more severe than hepatitis A, and the clinical features tend to develop more slowly.
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