Pretoria - Tshwane residents have been urged to get tested for Hepatitis A, which has been on a rise in the past month.
"Individuals are advised to visit their doctor and be tested," Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality spokesperson, Console Tleane, said.
Hepatitis A is an acute, self-limiting (one that ends without treatment) disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus.
Symptoms vary depending on the age of the patient. In children under four years, the infection is most often asymptomatic because mostly they don't show jaundice. In individuals older than 15 years, 40-70 percent of patients present with jaundice.
Common symptoms include appetite loss, fatigue/malaise, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, fever, arthralgia and myalgia, flu-like symptoms (cough, running nose, painful throat), sensitivity to light and headache.
The disease is reported to be highly infectious and direct person-to-person spread is common, especially in poor hygiene settings.
However, the disease is usually acquired by ingestion of faecally contaminated food or water, sexual contact and blood transfusions may also play a role in the spread of the disease, but incidences are rare.
The city's Health and Social Development Department said contracting the disease can be prevented through good personal hygiene, safe drinking water and proper disposal of sanitary waste.
Pre-exposure protection through hepatitis A vaccines also prevents the onset of the disease.
People at the highest risk of contracting the disease include preschool children attending day-care centers and their parents and siblings, day-care centre employees, persons with chronic liver disease, residents and staff of closed communities (institutions).
Others at highest risk are refugees residing in temporary camps following catastrophes, medical and paramedical personnel in hospitals, people living in regions with endemic hepatitis A, food service establishments and food handlers.
