UPMC Liver Cancer Center

Overview  |  Diagnosis  |  Treatment  |  Prevention

Treatments for Hepatitis A

There are no specific treatments for hepatitis A.

The goals of hepatitis A treatment are to:

• keep you as comfortable as possible
• prevent the infection from being passed to others
• prevent more liver damage by helping you avoid substances (medications, alcohol) that might stress the liver while it's healing

The disease generally will go away, without treatment, within two to five weeks. However, about 15 percent of people who are infected by hepatitis A will have relapsing symptoms for up to nine months.

In almost all cases, once you recover, there are no aftereffects and you are immune to the virus.

In rare cases, hepatitis A infection will be so severe that a liver transplant may be necessary.

Learn more about treatments at the UPMC Liver Cancer Center.