Comparison between Hepatitis A and B

Disease	Transmitted through contaminated food and water	Transmitted through blood and body fluids.
Disease	Hepatitis A (HAV)	Hepatitis B (HBV)
Sources of Infections	Ingestion of contaminated water of food - especially raw or insufficiently cooked (fruits / vegetables / seafood) Cooked food handled by infected individuals Close person to person contact (within families / schools / daycare centres etc.).	Contacts with infected blood and body fluids. Contaminated IV needles, tattoo / body piercing and sharp instruments. Having sex with infected person or multiple partners. Infected mother to new born.
Who is at risk?	Young and adolescent children unexposed to infection in early childhood because of improved standards of living. Household / outside contact with and infected person can lead to infection.	Infant born to infected mother; people having sex with an infected person or multiple partners; I.V. drug users, healthcare workers & hemodialysis patients.
Onset of clinical disease	Usually abrupt	Usually gradual
Clinical symptoms last for	6 weeks - 3 months	6 weeks - 3 months
Severity	Age dependent. Symptoms more severe and common in adolescents and adults. May require hospitalization occasionally and in some cases, may lead to death. 10% of cases may relapse.	Age dependent and occasionally severe. May lead to chronic carrier stage. Can also develop into fulminant hepatitis.
Signs and Symptoms	Light stools, dark urine, fatigue, fever and jaundice.	Carriers may have no symptoms. some people may have mild flu like symptoms, dark urine, light stools, jaundice, fatigue and fever.
Treatment	No effective treatment.	Interferon is effective in certain select cases.
Prevention	Yes, Vaccine available. Immunoglobulin available.	Yes, Vaccine available. Immunoglobulin available.
Other preventive measures	Maintain personal hygiene. Eat well cooked food (steaming may not be enough). Drink boiled water. Ensure proper sewage disposal.	Safe sex. Clean up any infected blood with bleach and wear protective gloves. Do not share razors or toothbrushes.

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