Free risk assessment
Do I have hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable liver infection spread through contaminated food and water or close contact, and most people recover fully. Answer a few questions about your symptoms and risk factors to see how concerned to be and where to get tested. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
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Medically reviewed by Mark Riegel, MD · Updated June 2026
- Incubation period
- 15–50 days
- Average 28 days after exposure; symptoms appear 2–7 weeks post-exposure
- Becomes chronic?
- Never
- Unlike hep B and C — full recovery confers lifelong immunity; you cannot get HAV twice
- Prevention
- Vaccine
- 2-dose series (Havrix / Vaqta / Twinrix); 95–100% protective; post-exposure vaccine works within 2 weeks
- At-risk groups (U.S.)
- MSM, PWUD, homelessness
- Since 2016 large U.S. person-to-person outbreaks in these three groups; >42,000 hospitalizations 2016–2022
Many infections are silent. A low result here doesn't rule hepatitis a out. If you've had a new partner or any concern, testing is the only way to be sure.
About hepatitis A
What is hepatitis A?
Worried about hepatitis A after a possible exposure, or feeling unwell with stomach upset and fatigue? Here's the grounding fact: hepatitis A is a liver infection that, unlike hepatitis B and C, never becomes long-term. Almost everyone recovers fully within a few weeks to a couple of months and is then immune for life — you can't catch it twice.
It mostly spreads the fecal–oral way — through contaminated food or water or close contact — but it's also passed sexually, especially through oral–anal contact, which is why it shows up in outbreaks among men who have sex with men. The single most useful thing to know is that it's vaccine-preventable, and a vaccine given within about two weeks of an exposure can often head off illness entirely. Most cases stay mild-to-moderate, but it can hit harder if you already have liver disease or are older. This check helps you read your risk; it isn't a diagnosis.
Screening guidance
Who should get tested for hepatitis A?
Because hepatitis A is often silent, the CDC recommends routine screening for the groups most likely to have it — not just people with symptoms.
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1
You have signs of liver illness
Yellowing skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, nausea or deep fatigue after a possible exposure are the clearest prompts — a simple blood test confirms it.
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2
Someone close to you was diagnosed
If a household member, sexual partner, or someone you shared drugs with has hepatitis A, see a clinician fast about post-exposure vaccination — ideally within two weeks.
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3
You're in a current outbreak group
Ongoing U.S. outbreaks have centered on men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, and people experiencing homelessness — if that's you and you're unvaccinated, testing plus the vaccine is wise.
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4
You have chronic liver disease or HIV
Hepatitis A tends to hit harder if your liver is already compromised, so testing after any exposure and vaccinating beforehand matter most here.
Timing
When a hepatitis A test is reliable
Symptoms usually take 2–7 weeks to appear after exposure (around four on average), and the IgM blood test that confirms it turns positive about the time you start feeling unwell — so a test taken in the first days after exposure can read negative while you're still incubating. If you have symptoms, get tested now; if you're well but know you were exposed, don't wait on a test — ask a clinician about post-exposure vaccination, which can stop illness if given within two weeks.
U.S. data
Hepatitis A in the United States
Since 2016 the U.S. has experienced the largest sustained hepatitis A outbreaks in decades, primarily among people who use drugs, people experiencing homelessness, and MSM — person-to-person spread rather than a contaminated food source. By 2022 these outbreaks had resulted in more than 42,000 hospitalizations and over 400 deaths across dozens of states. Black Americans and people experiencing homelessness have faced disproportionate mortality. Before routine childhood vaccination began in 1996, HAV was one of the most commonly reported vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. — incidence has fallen more than 95% since. Annual U.S. cases for 2022 CDC: approximately 13,500 reported (actual infections estimated substantially higher given under-reporting).
- 14k
- Reported U.S. cases (2022 CDC, significant under-reporting) (2022)
- >400 deaths
- in U.S. multi-state person-to-person outbreaks, 2016–2022
Good to Know
Hepatitis A questions
Common questions about hepatitis a and hepatitis a testing, answered.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis A?
Often fatigue, nausea, stomach pain, and fever, then jaundice (yellow skin or eyes) with dark urine and pale stools. Symptoms start a few weeks after exposure and can last under two months. Young children often have no symptoms at all.
How is hepatitis A spread sexually?
Through oral-anal contact, where the virus passes from stool to mouth. It's a recognized risk for men who have sex with men, alongside its more common spread through contaminated food or water.
Can hepatitis A be prevented after exposure?
Yes — the hepatitis A vaccine (or immune globulin) can prevent illness if given within two weeks of exposure. If you think you were exposed, ask a clinician promptly. Vaccination beforehand is the best protection.
When is hepatitis A serious?
Most people recover fully. Rarely it causes liver failure — warning signs are confusion or extreme drowsiness, severe or persistent vomiting, and deep jaundice. Those, or being over 60 or having existing liver disease, warrant urgent care.
Will hepatitis A become chronic?
No. Unlike hepatitis B or C, hepatitis A doesn't cause long-term liver infection — once you recover you're immune. There's no specific treatment beyond rest, fluids, and avoiding alcohol while you heal.
Trust & transparency
How this assessment works
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Grounded in public-health guidance
The questions — and how heavily each answer counts — follow the risk factors and symptoms the CDC and WHO describe for Hep A.
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A risk guide, not a diagnosis
Your answers produce a risk level — how concerned to be — and flag anything that needs urgent care. Only a lab test can confirm or rule out an infection.
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Private by design
It runs in your browser. We never ask for your name, email, or anything that identifies you.
Medically reviewed · Updated
Reviewed by Mark Riegel, MD · Sexual Health Physician · Chief Medical Reviewer
Physician focused on sexual health — STI testing, treatment and prevention — and EasySTD's chief medical reviewer. Owns the condition guides and is the clinical backstop for any page without a more specific specialist. Our editorial guidelines →
Sources & references
9 Sources
Clinical guidance
- CDC — Hepatitis A: Information for the Public https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/index.htm
- CDC — STI Treatment Guidelines 2021: Hepatitis A https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/hepatitis.htm
- CDC — Hepatitis A Vaccine: Who Needs It https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hepa/
- CDC — Hepatitis A Outbreak Surveillance (Person-to-Person) https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/outbreaks/hepatitisaoutbreaks.htm
- CDC — Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP): Hepatitis A Vaccination https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/rr/rr6905a1.htm
- AASLD — Hepatitis A Practice Guidance https://www.aasld.org/publications/practice-guidelines
Data & references
- CDC — Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report 2022 https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/statistics/
- MedlinePlus — Hepatitis A https://medlineplus.gov/hepatitisa.html
- Office on Women's Health — Hepatitis A https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/hepatitis
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