Hepatitis A (Hep A or HAV for short) is a virus that causes inflammation of the liver.
In 2004 there were about 700 cases in England and Wales, with Yorkshire and Humberside having the most new cases.
10 to 14 days after infection, people with hepatitis A may suffer flu like symptoms, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and mild weight loss, itchy skin and pale stools. Some people will develop jaundice, which causes yellow eyes and skin. Some people won't show any of these symptoms and the older you are when you catch it, the stronger the likely symptoms.
4 to 8 weeks after infection, most people should recover totally and very few people with hepatitis A suffer liver failure.
Hepatitis A is spread when you inadvertently ingest the faeces of someone who is infected with the virus. Poor sanitation is therefore often a contributing factor and most people in the UK who catch Hepatitis A will have caught in abroad. But you can catch it through sex.
Any sexual activity where even a tiny amount of someone else's faeces could enter your mouth has the potential to spread hepatitis A. 'Rimming' - using the mouth to stimulate someone else's anus - is therefore an example of potentially risky practises. The same could be said for going down on someone who had just had anal sex with a third party.
To test for hepatitis A doctors take a blood sample. The blood test will also detect if you had hepatitis A in the past.
If you do have hepatitis A, there isn't much a doctor can do about it. Your body should recover of its own accord and you'll be immune from hepatitis A from then on.