Abstract
Hepatitis A virus causes an acute infection mainly in young children. The present study was carried out to characterize the nature of hepatitis A virus (HAV) involved in an outbreak of jaundice in children. Serum and stool samples from five children were sampled from among 26 clinically diagnosed jaundice cases. HAV IgM ELISA and PCR were used for confirmatory diagnosis and molecular characterization by direct amplicon sequencing and analysis. All the serum samples collected from the symptomatic cases were found to be positive for Anti-HAV IgM ELISA as were all the serum samples and stool samples using semi-nested PCR. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the HAV involved in the outbreak belonged to genotype IIIA. The infection was caused by HAV genotype IIIA. Improved access to clean drinking water, sanitation around drinking water sources and routine chlorination of drinking water in poor and developing countries are needed, as well as childhood HAV vaccination under regular immunization programs in endemic countries.
Highlights
Hepatitis A virus causes an acute infection mainly in young children
Viral hepatitis or jaundice outbreaks are caused by hepatitis viruses A, B, C and E
We report an outbreak of hepatitis A virus from a village in Tamil Nadu which occurred during April-May, 2018, confirmed by serological and molecular testing
Summary
Hepatitis A virus causes an acute infection mainly in young children. The present study was carried out to characterize the nature of hepatitis A virus (HAV) involved in an outbreak of jaundice in children. Viral hepatitis or jaundice outbreaks are caused by hepatitis viruses A, B, C and E. Hepatitis A is generally an acute, self-limiting liver infection transmitted through the faeco-oral route, caused by a picornavirus, the hepatitis A virus (HAV) belonging to genus Hepatovirus. It causes 10 million infections worldwide each year [2,3], and is estimated to have caused approximately 11,000 deaths in 2015 [4].
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