Trends in the Epidemiology of Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Infections at a Tertiary Care Hospital in East Delhi: A 7-Year Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are major global health problems. In 2009, the national Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) began conducting surveillance across all Indian states for epidemic-prone diseases including viral hepatitis. Hence this retrospective study was conducted to identify trend changes in HBV and HCV epidemiology over a period of 7 years at a tertiary care hospital in Delhi. Enzyme-linked immunoassay result entries for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and Hepatitis C antigen and/or anti-HCV antibody were analyzed. The 7-year seroprevalence of HBV and HCV was found to be 3.084% and 5.381% respectively. The seroprevalence of HBsAg was maximum in 2010. Since then the seroprevalence has shown a small decrease. Government of India has included HBV vaccine in the National Universal Immunization Program in the entire country in 2011-12. We consider the reduction in HBsAg seroprevalence to represent a true fall in HBV transmission due to vaccination and/or public consciousness. In the present study, HCV infection appeared to be more common than HBV infection. During last few years, seroprevalence of HCV also increased, which is possibly attributable to an increase in the population of Delhi and a heavy load of the migrant population. These figures may be important for estimation of the disease burden in this region. The study provides a fine reference for future studies, because of the large number of cases investigated over a long period of 7 years and draws attention to the lacunae in ongoing immunization programs.