Hepatitis A in Children

Written by: Wahida Sabir

Hepatitis A is a kind of jaundices that could affect people of any ages. According to the report provided by the doctors of the Indra Gandhi Child Health Care Hospital, Kabul city, more cases of jaundices are seen during cold weather, especially children are more likely to get infected than adults.

AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some people and a physician about this disease.

A man, a resident of Sarobi district, Kabul province says: “my baby was faced with diarrhea. His stomach swollen. I treated him but got no result then I took him to the hospital in Kabul. They said that he is infected with hepatitis A virus.”

 A mother from Jalalabad city, Nangarhar province says: “my four-year-old child was suffering from fever, stomach ache, and vomiting. The color of his urine was yellowish, and his feces were white. We gave him medicine without a doctor’s prescription and his health condition became worse. When we took him to the hospital, the diagnosed hepatitis A.”

Najibullah, a resident of Balkh province says: “my cousin was 5 years old, she always complained from pain, her mother was giving her home remedy. She always cooked her French fries. One night her health condition got worse, her whole body was yellow and they took her to the hospital but unfortunately, she died.

Doctor Hamidullah Angar, an internist at Indra Gandhi Child Health Care Hospital says: “The first symptom of hepatitis A is anorexia. The patient would suffer from fever, flue, feeling pain in the right side his/her stomach, then his/her eyes, face and even all his body would become yellow. If not treated on time, his/her kidneys or liver would lose their function and the patient might die.”

What do people think about the causes of hepatitis A?

A grandmother says that her one of her grandsons had hepatitis  A and his disease transferred to the other one.

Mullah Muhammad, a resident of Qarabagh district, Kabul province says that jaundices are caused by eating fatty foods like French fries, burgers and so on.

A mother says that she does not know that why her child infected with hepatitis A because there was no one infected with hepatitis A virus in her family.

Doctor Angar says: “Hepatitis A is a contagious disease and its virus is transmitted by drinking contaminated water, eating high-fat, and fried foods, French fries, puffs, contacting with a hepatitis A-infected person, using his dishes, clothes, towel, and using a single syringe for several people.”

How could people take care of the patients?

A mother says that she gives his child fresh fruits and avoids fatty foods and his health is better than before.

Another mother says that she has separated his infected child’s dishes, takes care of his cleanliness and as her child does not have the appetite, she gives her foods so many times a day.

Doctor Angar says: “In the first step, sanitation should be taken into consideration. It is important that the patient is separated from healthy children. Giving more soft foods, such

as vegetables and rice and sweet foods, because these foods make the liver functions easy. Sweet food such as a cane, pomegranate, and natural apple juices, citruses, and reduce meat consumption but the chicken is better and it is better to reduce the amount of food and give him/her more often.”