Abstract
Introduction: Worldwide, the most common type of acute viral hepatitis is hepatitis A, transmitted via the fecal-oral route occasionally leading to death due to acute fulminant hepatitis. The present study was undertaken to study the seroprevalence of HAV infection in a tertiary care hospital over a five year period. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2012 to December 2016 on samples of blood obtained from cases of clinically suspected hepatitis infection by IgM 'capture' assay ELISA. Results: A total of 173 cases were included in the study. The number of positive cases were 35(20.2%). The percentage positivity rate of anti HAV IgM was higher among the children tested 32(30.8%) when compared to adults tested 3(4.3%). Seasonal distribution showed maximum number of seropositive cases in the monsoon months. Conclusion: Increase in the number of samples received during 2014 and 2015 and a zero positive rate in 2015 indicates a rise in the awareness about preventive measures against hepatitis A virus infection. Uniform and well structured protocols which monitor HAV cases and assess disease load are necessary to capture and probe into the sudden rise in the seropositivity, as seen in the last four months of 2016 in this study. Keywords: Fulminant hepatitis, Feco-oral route, Hepatitis A, Sero prevalence.
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