Sketchy Micro: (Pico) Hepatitis A

Question 1

What kind of virus is HAV?

Answer 1

• Positive-sense, ssRNA (warm tones with positive sun)

* Naked (statue of David in front of the Pico Petting Zoo)

Question 2

HAV is ________-stable.

Answer 2

acid (like the hippos hanging out over the pool of acid on those teetering rocks)

Question 3

How is HAV transmitted?

Answer 3

Fecal-oral (like the piles of poop around the acid pond)

Question 4

How can HAV be killed?

Answer 4

• Boiling for over a minute
• Chlorination
• UV radiation
• Bleach

Question 5

Water in the U.S. is treated to prevent HAV infection, but there is still a route by which people here get HAV: ________________.

Answer 5

contaminated shellfish (like the nasty clams being dredged out of the poopy water in this scene for the USA Shellfish stand)

Question 6

Describe the different presentations of Hepatitis A.

Answer 6

• Adults most commonly present with jaundice (like the adult wearing a yellow tracksuit)
• Children are most often anicteric (like the kid in normal, non-yellow clothing)
• Smokers will commonly develop an aversion to smoking (like the smoker disgustedly extinguishing his cigarette)

Question 7

Talk about the typical illness caused by Hepatitis A.

Answer 7

• It is usually self-limiting (like the “LIMIT one per customer” sign on the seafood stand)
• It typically starts and finishes within one month (like the “for ONE MONTH only” sign)
• There are no asymptomatic carriers (like the “no carry out” sign, also on the stand)

Question 8

What kind of vaccine is the HAV vaccine?

Answer 8

Killed (like the inactivating tranquilizer gun on the clam woman)