ADEX Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) Practice Exam

Hepatitis A is caused by an RNA enterovirus, specifically the Hepatitis A virus (HAV). This virus is part of the Picornaviridae family and is classified as a non-enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus. The structure and type of the virus play a crucial role in how it is transmitted and how it causes disease.

As an enterovirus, Hepatitis A is primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route, often due to consumption of contaminated food or water. Understanding that Hepatitis A is an RNA virus helps in recognizing its behavior and epidemiology compared to DNA viruses or other types of viruses like retroviruses and herpes viruses.

The other options relate to different classes of viruses that do not include the Hepatitis A virus. DNA viruses have a different genetic makeup and replication process, retroviruses, such as HIV, use reverse transcriptase to replicate, and herpes viruses are typically associated with different clinical presentations and modes of transmission. These distinctions highlight why identifying Hepatitis A specifically as an RNA enterovirus is vital in the context of understanding its infection mechanism and public health implications.