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hepatitis A

Please note:

If you have been potentially exposed to hepatitis A, you should get one shot of vaccine within 14 days of the exposure to prevent disease.

About the vaccine

     The hepatitis A vaccine is free and recommended for adults with medical, occupational, or lifestyle risks but it is also recommended for adults who have never been vaccinated against hepatitis A before.

Talk to your public health nurse or doctor about purchasing the vaccine (prescription required). 

Vaccines are very safe. It's much safer to get the vaccine than to get Hepatitis A disease.

Which adults should get vaccinated?

  • Travelers visiting countries where hepatitis A is common. This includes all countries except the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand
  • People with chronic liver disease
  • People who have blood clotting-factor disorders, such as haemophilia
  • Men who have sex with men
  • Users of injection and non-injection illegal drugs
  • People working with HAV in a research laboratory.

For more information about the vaccine, who should get it, the benefits and possible reactions, go to the Hepatits A Vaccine healthfile.


  The hepatitis A vaccine is not part of the routine schedule of childhood immunizations. but the hepatitis B vaccine is. For more information read our Hepatitis B Infant Vaccine healthfile and Hepatitis B Vaccine healthfile.


About the disease

  • Hepatitis A is a disease of the liver, caused by the hepatitis A virusMan with jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes)
  • Symptoms can be so mild that a person may not be aware that they have the disease. This happens more often in children
  • Symptoms include yellow skin or eyes, loss of appetite, fever, tiredness, stomach ache, or nausea
  • For every 1000 people infected, 1 to 3 will die. The death rate is higher in people 50 years of age and older
  • People with hepatitis A infection who use the bathroom without proper hand washing can pass the virus on to others through food preparation or other hand-to-mouth contact
  • The disease can also be spread by sexual contact, or sharing of equipment for drug use, such as needles or pipes
  • Hepatitis A can also be spread by drinking contaminated water, or by eating raw or under-cooked shellfish, such as crabs, clams, oysters or mussels, that have been contaminated with sewage.
  • More vaccine preventable disease images.


Photos courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention