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Glite Dictionary
hepatitis A

hepatitis A

3 4.5
A liver infection caused by a virus that spreads through contaminated food or water, usually mild
  • noun
  • /ˌhɛpəˈtaɪtɪs eɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hepatitis A
  • Individuals can protect themselves against hepatitis A by receiving a vaccine, especially before traveling to areas where the virus is common.
  • hepatitis A virus
  • hepatitis A vaccine
  • hepatitis A outbreak

Examples

  • Hepatitis A occurs at a rate of 0.1 to 1.0 per 1,000 travelers to developing countries.

    Academic text (2007)

  • No additional restaurant employees were ill, and no additional reported cases of hepatitis A were associated with the ill employee.

    Academic text (2006)

  • No additional restaurant employees became ill, and no secondary cases of hepatitis A were reported within the community.

    Academic text (2006)

  • However, Hepatitis A is a disease that results from poor sanitary conditions.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Common symptoms associated with hepatitis A include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, anorexia, fever, jaundice, and dark urine.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Last year, health officials reported an outbreak of hepatitis A linked to contaminated food in several restaurants.

  • After the outbreak, the local government increased awareness campaigns to educate people about the risks of hepatitis A transmission.

Synonyms

infectious hepatitis
vshepatitis A
  • Archaic
3.8

A short, often mild liver illness caused by a virus and spread by dirty food or water

is the specific viral name for the same disease

Antonyms

health
∞ 1.0

The condition of a person's body and mind, especially being free from illness or injury

wellness
52 3.2

Good physical and mental health that people try to keep

Surface Forms

hepatitis A singular
hepatitis As plural

Morphology

hepatitis + A

The headword is transparently compositional: 'hepatitis' already denotes a liver disease, and 'A' functions as a subtype label, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer this is a specific form/type of hepatitis. The use of letters to label disease strains/subtypes is cross-linguistically common, so the basic meaning (a particular hepatitis caused by the A-type virus) is clear even if detailed transmission features are not fully predictable.

Etymology

Hepatitis A comes from two parts: hepato- means 'liver' and -itis means 'inflammation' or 'sickness'. The 'A' shows the particular virus, so the name literally says 'A-type liver sickness', which helps you remember it is a contagious liver infection that often spreads through dirty food or water.