Viral Classification:

Hepatitis A Virus is under Group 4 (+)ssRNA that is according to the Baltimore Classification
System of viruses. It is RNA virus because it has its ribonucleic acid as its genetic material.

POSITIVE SENSE

HAV is postitive sense, because in virology, the genome of an RNA virus can be either said,
positive sense or aka plus-strand or it can be negative sense or aka minus-strand. In this
case, Hepatitis A Virus is a positive sense RNA virus. Which indicates that it starts from 5 to
3. It signifies that a particular viral RNA sequence may be directly translated into the
desired viral proteins. Therefore, in positive-sense RNA viruses, the viral RNA genome can be
considered viral mRNA, and can be immediately
Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a large family
translated by the host cell. Some viruses have of RNA molecules that convey genetic
positive-sense genomes that can act as mRNA and information from DNA to the ribosome, where they
be used directly to synthesize proteins without the specify the amino acid sequence of
the protein products of gene expression.
help of a complementary RNA intermediate. Because
Following transcription of primary transcript mRNA
of this, these viruses do not need to have an RNA (known as pre-mRNA) by RNA polymerase,
polymerase packaged into the virion. As such, processed, mature mRNA is translated into a
purified RNA of a positive-sense virus can directly polymer of amino acids.

cause infection though it may be less infectious than

the whole virus particle.

Order: Picornavirales
Family: Picornaviridae
Genus: Hepatovirus
HAV has this genus all to itself;
HAV was formerly known as Enterovirus type 72

Species: Hepatovirus A

Morphological Description

Small RNA virus, with a diameter of 27-32 nm

Composed entirely of viral protein and RNA
Nonenveloped

It is relatively resistant to heat and acid, but can be

inactivated by:

o Boiling for 1 min

o Formaldehyde (3% for 5 min) and Chlorine (for

water decontamination)

o UV radiation
 Has a single strand of RNA
Surrounded by capsid composed of four polypeptides (VP1 VP4)
Icosahedral
HAV particles are indistinguishable from other picornaviruses. (In fact, HAV is among
the smallest and structurally simplest of the RNA animal viruses)

CAPSID - is the protein shell of a virus. In this case, you can see that the shape of the capsid
is icosahedral

Empty capsids, abundant in faeces collected during early infection

Primer - a molecule (as a short strand of RNA or DNA) whose presence is required for
formation of another molecule (as a longer chain of DNA)

Transmission:

The hepatitis A virus is transmitted primarily by the faecal-oral route; that is when an
uninfected person ingests food or water that has been contaminated with the faeces of an
infected person. Waterborne outbreaks, though infrequent, are usually associated with
sewage-contaminated or inadequately treated water.

The virus can also be transmitted through close physical contact with an infectious person,
although casual contact among people does not spread the virus.

fecal-oral route, which is a disgusting notion that someone else pooped out the virus and
that virus entered the food or water supply that you ended up consuming!

How is HAV spread? HAV is transmitted from person-to-person via the faecal-oral route. As
HAV is abundantly excreted in faeces, and can survive in the environment for prolonged
periods of time, it is typically acquired by ingestion of faeces-contaminated food or water.
Direct person-to-person spread is common under poor hygienic conditions. Occasionally,
HAV is also acquired through sexual contact (anal-oral) and blood transfusions.

Many types of food can be infected by sewage containing HAV, but shellfish, such as clams
and oysters, are common culprits.

Following ingestion, HAV enters the bloodstream through the epithelium of

the oropharynx or intestine.[15] The blood carries the virus to its target, the liver, where it
multiplies within hepatocytes and Kupffer cells (liver macrophages). Virions are secreted into
the bile and released in stool. HAV is excreted in large quantities about 11 days prior to
appearance of symptoms or anti-HAV IgM antibodies in the blood. Theincubation period is
1550 days and mortality is less than 0.5%. Within the liver hepatocytes, the RNA genome is
released from the protein coat and is translated by the cell's own ribosomes. Unlike
other picornaviruses, this virus requires an intact eukaryote initiating factor 4G (eIF4G) for
the initiation of translation.[16] The requirement for this factor results in an inability to shut
down host protein synthesis, unlike other picornaviruses. The virus must then inefficiently
compete for the cellular translational machinery which may explain its poor growth in cell
culture. Presumably for this reason, the virus has strategically adopted a naturally highly
deoptimized codon usage with respect to that of its cellular host. Precisely how this strategy
works is not quite clear yet.

The bile duct from this point onward is known as the common bile duct or
choledochus.

Prodromal or preicteric phase ranging from several days to more than a week, characterised
by the appearance of symptoms like loss of appetite, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea and
vomiting, fever, diarrhoea, dark urine and pale stools

Jaundice, also known as icterus,[1] is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin,

the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae (whites of the eyes), and other mucous
membranes caused by high blood bilirubin levels.[2] This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently
causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid. Concentration of bilirubin
in blood plasma is normally below 1.2 mg/dL(<25mol/L). A concentration higher than
approx. 3 mg/dL (>50mol/L) leads to jaundice.[3] The term jaundice comes from the French
word jaune, meaning yellow.

Symptoms
The incubation period of hepatitis A is usually 1428 days.
Symptoms of hepatitis A range from mild to severe, and can include fever, malaise, loss of
appetite, diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal discomfort, dark-coloured urine and jaundice (a
yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes). Not everyone who is infected will have all of
the symptoms.
Adults have signs and symptoms of illness more often than children, and the severity of
disease and mortality increases in older age groups. Infected children under 6 years of
age do not usually experience noticeable symptoms, and only 10% develop jaundice.
Among older children and adults, infection usually causes more severe symptoms, with
jaundice occurring in more than 70% of cases.

Why is the Urine dark colored when there is HAV?

Dark brown but clear urine is a sign of a liver disorder such as acute viral
hepatitis or cirrhosis, which causes excess bilirubin in the urine.