Abstract
Most outbreaks of viral hepatitis in India are caused by hepatitis E. This report describes an outbreak of hepatitis B in a rural population in Haryana state in 1997. At least 54 cases of jaundice occurred in Dhottar village (population 3096) during a period of 8 months; 18 (33.3%) of them died. Virtually all fatal cases were adults and tested positive for HBsAg (other markers not done). About 88% (21/24) of surviving cases had acute or persistent HBV/HCV infections; 54% (13/24) had acute hepatitis B. Many other villages reported sporadic cases and deaths. Data were pooled from these villages for analysis of risk factors. Acute hepatitis B cases had received injections before illness more frequently (11/19) than those found negative for acute or persistent HBV/HCV infections (3/17) (P = 0.01). Although a few cases had other risk factors, these were equally prevalent in two groups. The results linked the outbreak to the use of unnecessary therapeutic injections.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (131.9 KB).