Hepatitis E Health Video

Video Transcript

CAROLYN COOPER, MD: .I'm Dr. Cooper and I'm going to be talking about hepatitis E. Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver and hepatitis E is inflammation of the liver due to infection by a virus called hepatitis E. Hepatitis E is quite uncommon in the United States. It is transmitted by contaminated water and uncooked foods. It is most prevalent in Southeast Asia, India, and Mexico but is not very common in the U.S. Signs and symptoms of hepatitis E are usually very mild jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, anorexia, maybe nausea and vomiting. It can be much more severe in women in their third trimester of pregnancy for unknown reasons. The treatment of hepatitis E is supportive care. It never progresses on to chronic disease, and the prevention of hepatitis E can be instituted by frequent hand washing with soap and water after using the bathroom, changing diapers, or preparing food and avoiding water and ice of unknown purity and making sure that vegetables and fruits are peeled by the traveller or individual.