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. 2025 Feb 7;17(2):e78676.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.78676. eCollection 2025 Feb.

A Retrospective Study on the Prevalence of Hepatitis A Virus in Patients With Acute Viral Hepatitis at a Tertiary Care Hospital

T Anitha  1 , P Sivagamasundari  1 , Eunice Swarna Jacob  1 , P B Praveen Kumar  1
Affiliations

A Retrospective Study on the Prevalence of Hepatitis A Virus in Patients With Acute Viral Hepatitis at a Tertiary Care Hospital

T Anitha et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a common cause of acute viral hepatitis, especially in developing countries. HAV poses a major public health problem in India. A retrospective study was carried out to ascertain the prevalence, demographic characteristics, and clinical outcomes of the hepatitis A virus in patients who presented with acute viral hepatitis at a tertiary care hospital between November 2022 and October 2024. About 656 samples were included in this study; 142 of the 656 samples tested positive for HAV IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In July and August of 2023, there was a sharp increase in seropositive cases linked to person-to-person transmission. In this study, the overall prevalence was 22%. The most frequent symptoms were fever, followed by stomach pain and yellowish urine. The hepatitis A virus primarily affects young children and a small percentage of adults and adolescents from lower and intermediate socioeconomic backgrounds who drink subterranean water. The seroprevalence of the hepatitis A virus is influenced by time and geographic spread. When caring for children under two, the most important preventative measure is to wash your hands properly. The current study also emphasizes the necessity of planning decisions on public health policies, such as vaccination plans, safe drinking water sources, and sanitation programs, in order to better control the hepatitis A virus and ensure its appropriate usage.

Keywords: acute viral hepatitis; elisa; hav; public health policies; young children.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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