Hepatitis A in Australia - New South wales and Victoria

22 Jan 2018

Two outbreaks of hepatitis A have been reported in Australia. As of 12 January there were 30 cases in New South Wales  of whom 29 are male and 16 are men who have sex with men (MSM). There have been 27 cases in Victoria  with MSM and people who inject drugs most affected.

Recommendations for Travellers

Hepatitis A is spread by the faecal-oral route and most travellers to the affected areas will be at low risk of infection.   

Prevention is focused on food and water precautions and practising meticulous hand and personal hygiene to reduce the risk of hepatitis A infection. Detailed risk management advice can be found via following links:

• Food and Water Precautions
• Water Purification

Vaccination is recommended if you are visiting areas where drinking water may be unsafe and where hygiene and sanitation is poor. Men who have sex with men are at higher risk of hepatitis A infection. There are various brands of hepatitis A vaccine available: Avaxim, Havrix Monodose, Havrix Junior Monodose and Vaqta Paediatric.

Hepatitis A vaccine is also available in a preparation that combines it with hepatitis B vaccine: Ambirix, Twinrix and Twinrix Paediatric and a preparation that combines it with typhoid vaccine: Hepatyrix and ViATIM.

For further information see Hepatitis A.