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Section 3
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Appendices

The following text is from an archived Red Book® edition and may not reflect current recommendations or information. To view the current edition, click here.

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Section 3. Summaries of Infectious Diseases

Hepatitis A

Clinical Manifestations
Etiology
Epidemiology
Diagnostic Tests
Treatment
Isolation of the Hospitalized Patient
Control Measures
Recommendations for Immunoprophylaxis

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CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS: Hepatitis A characteristically is an acute, self-limited illness associated with fever, malaise, jaundice, anorexia, and nausea. Symptomatic hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection occurs in approximately 30% of infected children younger than 6 years of age; few of these children will have jaundice. Among older children and adults, infection usually is symptomatic and typically lasts several weeks, with jaundice occurring in 70% or more. Prolonged or relapsing disease lasting as long as 6 months can occur. Fulminant hepatitis is rare but is more common in people with underlying liver disease. Chronic infection does not occur.


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ETIOLOGY: Hepatitis A virus is an RNA virus classified as a member of the picornavirus group.


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EPIDEMIOLOGY: The most common mode of transmission is person-to-person, resulting from fecal contamination and oral ingestion (ie, the fecal-oral route). Age at infection varies with socioeconomic status and associated living conditions. In developing countries, where infection is endemic, most people are infected during the first decade of life. In the prevaccine era in the United States, hepatitis A was one of the most commonly reported vaccine-preventable diseases, but its incidence has declined in recent years. In 2004, 5683 cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), compared with an average of approximately 26 000 cases per year during the preimmunization era. These declining rates have been accompanied by a shift in age-specific rates. Historically, the highest rates occurred among children 5 to 14 years of age, and the lowest rates occurred among adults older than 40 years of age. However, in recent years the highest rates have occurred among young adults, and rates among children 5 to 14 years . . . [Go to Full Text]


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Simultaneous Administration of Multiple Vaccines

Red Book 2006: 34. [Extract] [Full Version]  

Immune Globulin (Intramuscular)

Red Book 2006: 55-57. [Extract] [Full Version]  

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