Prevention of hepatitis E
It is possible to prevent hepatitis E by considering the most common modes of transmission. The following measures are useful enough to reduce the incidence of the disease:
- Make sure that the water you’re drinking and using to clean your vegetables is clean
- Maintain proper personal hygiene and adequate sanitation measures, especially when you’re cooking
- If you’re traveling to a high-risk area, do not drink tap water and avoid eating undercooked shellfish
- Heat your food at a temperature higher than 70ºC for a minimum of 20 minutes to destroy the virus
- Boil water for a minimum of 10 minutes before drinking
Vaccination for hepatitis E is available and very useful, but it is only developed for genotype 1. Still, current vaccines have a cross-protection with other genotypes, especially in genotype 4. The protection after receiving this type of immunization lasts for almost 5 years.
