Hepatistis A Is Endemic, Childhood Infection In Developing World; Experts

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2024) Hepatitis A is usually a self limiting illness caused by hepatitis A virus and enterically transmitted.

Senior Family Physician, Dr Imran Rafiq told this news agency on Saturday that Hepatitis A virus with heavy worldwide distribution, is associated with overcrowding and poor sanitation and is endemic in the developing world where it is an infection of childhood.

In developed countries, he stated, incidence increases village epidemics are associated with food and waterborne transmission certain groups are at increased risk. The virus is usually transmitted via the faeco oral route for though outbreaks have been associated with contaminated blood products, the senior family family physician informed.

Subclinical infection is common in children more than 90 pc of age less than 5 years, he said adding that acute hepatitis occurs more frequently with increasing age symptoms include fever, headache, pain in the whole body, loss of appetite vomiting weight loss, dark colour urine and pale stool. Occasionally, diarrhoea ,cough flu or pain in joints of the body may occur most commonly while in children physical findings include jaundice, enlarged liver and spleen, Dr Imran explained.

Treatment in acute hepatitis is always symptomatic. The doctor advises to avoid Paracetamol and alcohol. In case the patient is not conscious then the patient must be referred to a hospital where the consultant specialist physician should treat the patient, he maintained.

Prevention from the disease passive immunization cooled immunoglobulin (Gamaglobulin) was previously the mainstay of prophylaxis in travelers to endemic regions, he said and added that There are concerns that decreasing antibody level may not be to confer protection and the duration of protection is short lived. Immunoglobulins are now only used for post exposure and for non-vaccinated individuals who will be in a high risk region in less than 2 weeks.

Active immunization... several inactivated hepatitis A virus vaccines exist and these have largely superseded the use of immunoglobulin, Dr Imran informed.

Two doses of HAV are given at zero and 6..12 months and it provides protection for at least 10 years, he stated.

Indications for immunization include travelers to endemic areas, intravenous drug users, regular recipients of blood products and high risk employment, he concluded.