Seroprevalence of hepatitis A and hepatitis E in patients at a teaching hospital of northern India over a period of 8 years

Abstract

Background: Considering the diverse socio-economic and demographic factors in a vast country like India, it is important to study the long-term trends of hepatitis A (HAV) and hepatitis E (HEV) viruses. This study describes their seroprevalence and long-term trends in a tertiary care center of North India. Methods: The present retrospective observational study was conducted over a period of 8 years (January 2011–December 2018). Serological testing was done for detecting IgM antibodies against HAV and HEV using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: A total of 5319 samples were received during the study period, of which 903 (16.9%) were reactive for anti-HAV IgM antibodies and 795 (14.9%) were reactive for anti-HEV IgM antibodies. Majority of the cases occurred from June to October while HEV cases had a constant presence during the later years. Among HAV group, 534 (59.1%) were children, 336 (37.2%) were adults, and 33 (3.7%) were pregnant females. In HEV group, 632 (79.5%) were adults, 114 (14.3%) were pregnant females, whereas only 49 (6.2%) were children. Among those who were co-infected ( n = 87), 48 (55.2%) were adults, 22 (25.3%) were pregnant females, and the rest 17 (19.5%) were children. Conclusions: The shift in seroprevalence toward adults, along with an increasing trend of the number of cases reporting to the hospital, warrants active surveillance of HAV. Similarly, screening protocols for HEV should be set up as part of the antenatal management for early detection of the cases among pregnant females.

RNA-Seq of untreated wastewater to assess COVID-19 and emerging and endemic viruses for public health surveillance

“…It remains unexplained why we did not detect Hepatitis A, E, or B in the sequencing data, particularly when such viruses have been reported to be endemic in India. 38 , 39 , 40 RNA-Seq analysis also detected EMCV in the wastewater samples. As EMCV is infrequently associated with human illnesses, its detection in untreated wastewater is potentially the result of rodent and/or animal excrement.…”

Transfusion transmissible malaria: seroprevalence of malaria parasitemia in blood donors in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India

“…Furthermore, the utility of antibody screening for many endemic diseases is marred by issues in differentiating recent and past infections ( 25 ). In a study by Kyabayize et al the mean duration of antigen positivity was till 32 days after complete anti-malaria treatment ( 26 ).…”

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis A virus and Hepatitis E virus in patients presenting with acute viral hepatitis: A retrospective study of 2-years at tertiary care Hospital, Himachal Pradesh in Northern India

“…Additionally, from 2014, India has prioritized the development of improved sanitary infrastructure as part of the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) mission. 10 The exact prevalence of the illness in this northern Indian state is unknown due to a lack of statistics. Determining the infection rate, epidemiology of HAV and HEV, and their coinfections in AVH cases at tertiary care hospitals was the goal of the current study.…”