Brief Communication - Prevalence of parenterally transmitted hepatitis viruses in clinically diagnosed cases of hepatitis

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the most important causative agent of blood borne hepatitis in humans. Hepatitis D Virus (HDV) infection occurs either as a coinfection or superinfection in HBV carriers. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis and continues to be a major cause of human liver disease throughout the world. The present study was conducted on 70 clinically diagnosed cases of viral hepatitis to study the prevalence of parenterally transmitted viral hepatitis. The serum samples were tested for HBsAg, HBeAg, IgM anti-HBc, anti-HBe, anti-HCV and anti-HDV using separate ELISA kits. Of the 70 serum samples tested, 28(40%) were positive for HBsAg out of which 3 (4.28%) were positive for HBeAg also. Five (7.1%) of the HBsAg positive cases tested positive for IgM anti-HBc also. HBsAg alone was found in 17(24.28%) cases. The prevalence of anti-HCV was 3 (4.28%) in 70 cases. Thus early screening of clinically diagnosed cases of viral hepatitis is essential for establishing diagnosis and treatment to prevent long term sequelae.