Hepatitis Virus Infection: The Current Scenario in India

Globally, out of the 1.4 million deaths, 48% are due to hepatitis C virus, 47% due to hepatitis B virus and the remaining to hepatitis A and hepatitis E viruses.

Highlights:

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can progress to cirrhosis or liver cancer
Hepatitis C infection more common in North India, finds an analysis
Hepatitis E Virus and Hepatitis A Virus were common in young adult age group of 16 to 30 years

Hepatitis C Virus infection is most common in the Northern states of India, according to an analysis done by SRL Diagnostics on Viral Hepatitis A,B, C and E. Water-borne hepatitis E infection was found to be the most common laboratory diagnosed viral hepatitis in India. The findings are based on more than 8 lakh samples received for hepatitis testing at the SRL labs between January 2014 and May 2017.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection
HCV is a blood-borne infection that can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis. The modes of HCV infection are through exposure to small quantities of blood, which may happen through unsafe injection practices, unsafe healthcare, drug use, transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products and sexual contact with an infected person.

Autoimmune Hepatitis - Causes, Types, Symptoms, Complications, Diagnosis & Treatment
Autoimmune hepatitis is a type of chronic liver inflammation that responds well to immunosuppressive medications, but may require liver transplant.

‘Hepatitis has largely been ignored as a health and development priority. Precautionary steps should be taken, and awareness programs should be conducted to prevent hepatitis’

HCV infection could be severe or mild, lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness. About 80 to 85% of the individuals with chronic HCV require extended lifelong drug therapy.

The prevalence of HCV is estimated at 1% with 71 million of HCV infected adults. Most of the people who are chronically infected with HCV are likely to develop cirrhosis or liver cancer. About 399,000 people die each year from HCV, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Findings of SRL Analysis

All the four types of viral hepatitis (A,B,C and E) are more common in young age groups of 16 to 30 years and 31 to 45 years
Hepatitis E Virus and Hepatitis A Virus were common in young adult age group of 16 to 30 years
Hepatitis C Virus was more common in the middle age to elderly age groups of 46-60 and 61-85 years
Hepatitis B Virus infection was seen across all the age groups

Dr. Avinash Phadke, President Technology & Mentor (Clinical Pathology) from SRL Diagnostics said, “Despite around 400 million people affected globally, hepatitis has largely been ignored as a health and development priority until recently. Four common types of viral hepatitis i.e. A, B, C, E have different modes of transmission, affecting different populations and resulting in different health outcomes.”

Hepatitis A - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Hepatitis A is the most benign of the hepatitis viruses and usually has no long term side effects. Hepatitis A vaccine is available that is 95% effective in preventing the disease.

“With time, there has been a huge influx of people into urban areas of India and significant changes in the lifestyle of the urban population. For Hepatitis E Virus and Hepatitis A Virus infections hygiene and sanitation practices play major roles, while for Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus, lifestyle and awareness are very important,” said Dr Phadke.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 6 to 10 million new hepatitis cases are diagnosed. About 257 million people have chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Hepatitis B Virus or HBV Screening - Frequently Asked Questions
Tests used for screening hepatitis B are estimation of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-HBc and anti-HBs antibodies.

Viral hepatitis is responsible for an estimated 1.4 million deaths per year from acute infection and hepatitis-related liver cancer and cirrhosis, according to a report by the Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis.

Globally, out of the 1.4 million deaths, 48% are due to hepatitis C virus, 47% due to hepatitis B virus and the remaining to hepatitis A and hepatitis E viruses.

Hepatitis B-Causes-Symptoms-Diagnosis-Treatment-Vaccination-FAQs
Hepatitis B is inflammation of the liver due to infection with the hepatitis B virus.

Facts on Hepatitis Infection

About 325 million people were living with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus in 2015
Hepatitis is a silent killer that claimed 1.34 million lives in 2015
Nearly 95% of the people with hepatitis C can be cured completely within 2 to 3 months
In 2015, only 7% of the 71 million people with chronic hepatitis C had access to treatment

Source-Medindia