viral hepatitis type A

vi·ral hep·a·ti·tis type A

a viral disease with a short incubation period (usually 15-50 days), caused by hepatitis A virus, a member of the family Picornaviridae, often transmitted by fecal-oral route; may be inapparent, mild, severe, or occasionally fatal and occurs sporadically or in epidemics, commonly in school-age children and young adults; necrosis of periportal liver cells with lymphocytic and plasma cell infiltration is characteristic, and jaundice is a common symptom.

Synonym(s): epidemic hepatitis, hepatitis A, infectious hepatitis, MS-1 hepatitis, short incubation hepatitis, virus A hepatitis

vi·ral hep·a·ti·tis type A

(vī'răl hep'ă-tī'tis tīp)

A virus disease with a short incubation period (usually 15-50 days), caused by hepatitis A virus (family Picornaviridae, genus Hepatovirus) and often transmitted by the fecal-oral route; may be inapparent, mild, severe, or occasionally fatal, and occurs sporadically or in epidemics, commonly in school-age children and young adults; necrosis of periportal liver cells with lymphocytic and plasma cell infiltration is characteristic, and jaundice is a common symptom.
Synonym(s): hepatitis A.