Hepatitis E

At a glance

No vaccine available – read more about prevention
Nationally notifiable disease

About hepatitis E

Hepatitis E is an infection of the liver caused by a virus.

It mainly spreads through contaminated food or water.

Most people recover from hepatitis E, but it can be severe, especially for certain groups.

Why it matters to public health

Hepatitis E is common in some overseas countries with poor access to clean water, sanitation and health services.

Infections are rare in Australia. Most people get the virus while travelling overseas. But there have been local outbreaks linked to contaminated pork products.

Some people – especially pregnant people – are more likely to experience serious complications from hepatitis E.

Because of this, we:

monitor and report on hepatitis E in Australia
work with colleagues in the animal and environmental sectors to ensure a One Health coordinated approach to monitoring and reporting of hepatitis E
plan for how to manage outbreaks.

Symptoms

If you’re looking for advice about your own health or treatment options, see healthdirect or speak with a qualified healthcare professional. Our role is to provide public health advice – information and guidance that helps prevent disease, protect communities and improve wellbeing at a population level.

Some people with hepatitis E have no symptoms – especially children.

Symptoms include:

loss of appetite
nausea
vomiting
tiredness
abdominal pain
fever
dark-coloured urine
pale-coloured stools
joint pain
jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).

Some people can develop complications and might need hospitalisation.

Rarely, hepatitis E can cause acute liver failure and death.

Pregnant people with hepatitis E are at increased risk of acute liver failure, fetal loss and death.

healthdirect’s symptom checker can help you decide whether to see a health professional.

Check your symptoms

Onset of symptoms

Symptoms usually start between 15 and 64 days after getting infected.

How it spreads

Hepatitis E spreads when stool containing the virus contaminates food, water, hands or objects, and then enters someone’s mouth.

Hepatitis E can spread by:

consuming contaminated food or water – the risk is higher in some parts of the world with limited access to essential water, sanitation, hygiene and health services
eating undercooked meat – especially pork products, including liver
direct contact with an infected animal – especially pigs
eating food prepared by someone with hepatitis E
being in direct contact with a person with hepatitis E.

Hepatitis E can pass to the baby during pregnancy.

Infectious period

It is not well understood how long people with hepatitis E are infectious. People are thought to be infectious before their symptoms start until about 6 weeks after their symptoms appear.

Prevention

Protect yourself

There is no vaccine against hepatitis E.

In Australia, the best way to prevent hepatitis E is to practise:

good food safety, including thoroughly cooking pork products
good hand hygiene.

People who travel to a part of the world where hepatitis E is more common should also:

only drink bottled or boiled water
avoid ice in drinks
only eat food that is freshly cooked and piping hot
not eat fresh fruit or uncooked vegetables unless peeled themselves.

For travel advice, see Smartraveller.

Protect others

Until told by a healthcare professional that they can resume normal activities, people with hepatitis E should not:

prepare food or drink for other people, if possible
provide care to others, if possible
attend early childhood education and care centres, school or work
share utensils, towels or personal items with other people
swim or use hot tubs
have sexual contact with others
donate blood.

People with hepatitis E who work as food handlers or in jobs where they provide close personal care to people should check with their healthcare professional before returning to work.

Frequent, thorough hand washing can reduce the risk of spreading hepatitis E to others.

Priority groups and settings

Some people are at greater risk of getting hepatitis E or getting very sick from it.

Some settings make it more likely for hepatitis E virus to spread. These include:

food venues
early childhood education and care centres
schools
aged care homes
healthcare facilities.

People at greater risk should take steps to protect themselves.

People at greater risk of severe disease

Hepatitis E poses a greater risk of severe illness for:

pregnant people – especially in the third trimester
people who have a chronic liver condition
people who are immunocompromised.

People at greater risk of exposure

People might be at greater risk of being exposed to hepatitis E if they:

travel to parts of the world where hepatitis E is more common
eat undercooked pork – especially pork liver
work with animals that might be infected – especially pigs
live with or have other close contact with someone with hepatitis E.

Diagnosis and treatment

Healthcare professionals can diagnose hepatitis E through a blood test.

You can use healthdirect’s directory to find a health service near you.

Find a health service

There is no specific treatment for hepatitis E.

People who develop serious illness might need to be cared for in hospital.

Read more about how to manage or treat hepatitis E.

Surveillance and reporting

Hepatitis E is a nationally notifiable disease – these are diseases that present a risk to public health.

Health authorities in each state and territory report new laboratory confirmed cases to us through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

The OzFoodNet network monitors and responds to foodborne diseases in Australia, including hepatitis E.

This is part of our surveillance activities, which help us monitor case numbers around the country and understand disease patterns.

We analyse the data and report on case numbers and other data through our data visualisation tool, where you can filter and search the latest information.

Outbreaks

Outbreaks of hepatitis E are rare in Australia.

The response to outbreaks of hepatitis E focuses on:

finding the likely source of infection
preventing further infections.

Actions in an outbreak might include:

collecting information from people with hepatitis E about their exposures
finding other people who might have been exposed
testing and tracing contaminated food to find the source
providing education about safe food handling practices and hand hygiene
recalling contaminated food
sending out media alerts to let people know about the risk
sharing information through the OzFoodNet network.

Read more about how the Australian Government defines and plans for outbreaks.

Support

For information about hepatitis E in your state or territory, see:

If you need mental health support, see a list of organisations, websites and services that offer support, counselling and information.