Abstract
The hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a leading cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide. It is transmitted mainly by direct contact with patients who have been infected or by ingesting contaminated water or food. The virus is endemic in low-income countries where sanitary and sociodemographic conditions are poor. Paradoxically, improving sanitary conditions in these countries, which reduces the incidence of HAV infections, can lead to more severe disease in susceptible adults. The populations of developed countries are highly susceptible to HAV, and large outbreaks can occur when the virus is spread by globalization and by increased travel and movement of foodstuffs. Most of these outbreaks occur among high-risk groups: travellers, men who have sex with men, people who use substances, and people facing homelessness. Hepatitis A infections can be prevented by vaccination; safe and effective vaccines have been available for decades. Several countries have successfully introduced universal mass vaccination for children, but high-risk groups in high-income countries remain insufficiently protected. The development of HAV antivirals may be important to control HAV outbreaks in developed countries where a universal vaccination programme is not recommended.
Highlights
Background and VirologyReceived: 20 August 2021Accepted: 20 September 2021Published: 22 September 2021Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The hepatitis A virus (HAV) belongs to the Hepatovirus genus within the Picornaviridae family [1]
Biological diagnosis is required because hepatitis A is clinically indistinguishable from other viral forms of hepatitis
Perhaps HAV vaccination should be required in order to access pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. There are two types of infectious HAV particles: naked and quasi-enveloped virions. Quasi-enveloped virions have a lipid membrane and are found in the blood and culture supernatants [2]. 7.5 kb RNA genome with a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding one large polyprotein [4]. This polyprotein is processed by viral (protease 3C) and host cell proteases to give the structural (VP4, VP2, VP3, and VP1) and the non-structural mature proteins (2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C (protease), and 3D (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase)) [5,6,7]. International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) report, HAV is classified into five genotypes [8].
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