Is it possible to get hepatitis from food

Although the chances of getting hepatitis A in the UK are much smaller than in other parts of the world, certain groups have an increased risk. People in these groups are usually advised to have the hepatitis A vaccine to minimise their risk of infection. Page last reviewed: 11 March Next review due: 11 March In rare cases, hepatitis A can cause a sudden loss of liver function, especially in older adults or people with chronic liver diseases.

Acute liver failure requires a stay in the hospital for monitoring and treatment. Some people with acute liver failure may need a liver transplant. The hepatitis A vaccine can prevent infection with the virus. The vaccine is typically given in two shots. The first one is followed by a booster shot six months later. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a hepatitis A vaccine for the following people:.

If you're traveling to parts of the world where hepatitis A outbreaks occur, take these steps to prevent infection:. Thoroughly wash your hands often, especially after using the toilet or changing a diaper and before preparing food or eating.

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This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus.

Email address. First Name let us know your preferred name. Last Name. Reports are emerging regarding hepatitis E infection in humans from eating raw or undercooked pig meat or pig liver products, but the evidence is limited. EFSA looked at the matter in and noted that pork pies, liver pate, wild boar, under-cooked or raw pork, home-made sausages, meat in general , unpasteurised milk, shellfish and ethnic foods were cited as risk factors in the scientific literature.

The report by EFSA concluded that raw and undercooked pork meat and pork liver were the most common cause of hepatitis E virus in the EU. There are only a few studies that have looked at how cooking can be used to kill hepatitis E virus and the findings differ. Other studies in various food matrices including pig liver, suggest that 71 o C for 10 minutes or even 70 o C for 5 minutes would be sufficient to kill the hepatitis E virus. Many factors in cooking including time, temperature, number of infectious virus particles present and the composition of the food, will affect the rate at which the hepatitis E virus will be killed, if present.

Experimental studies on heat inactivation have tended to look at worse case scenarios e. This may explain some of the different findings. On balance, the FSAI is of the opinion that its current recommendation to cook pork and products containing pork e. Normal grilling or frying of sausages until they are well browned and firm inside with no traces of pink meat, usually results in centre temperatures in excess of 85 o C.

However, it is not recommended to rely on visual cues alone for determining thorough cooking and it is better to use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of cooked meat and meat products before consuming them. In addition, effective hand washing and hygiene precautions in the kitchen are essential to prevent foodborne illness through handling of raw meat or cross contamination of cooked food by raw food.

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Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Restaurant food is a common source of the hepatitis A virus HAV , a highly infectious virus that affects the liver. In fact, outbreaks of HAV infection linked to restaurants have been on the rise in recent years.

At least 30 states have reported such outbreaks since , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , so it's possible you've experienced such an outbreak in your state or perhaps even your city or town. Hepatitis A most often makes its way into restaurants via people who work there who are infected with the virus. Preventing the spread of the virus, therefore, requires a great deal of vigilance. Because HAV is transmitted via fecal matter, thorough hand-washing after using the bathroom and wearing gloves when handling food are key.