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. 1994 Apr 12;91(8):3428–3432. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.8.3428

Seroepidemiology of water-borne hepatitis in India and evidence for a third enterically-transmitted hepatitis agent.

V A Arankalle 1, M S Chadha 1, S A Tsarev 1, S U Emerson 1, A R Risbud 1, K Banerjee 1, R H Purcell 1
PMCID: PMC43590  PMID: 8159764

Abstract

Many epidemics of water-borne hepatitis have occurred throughout India. These were thought to be epidemics of hepatitis A until 1980, when evidence for an enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis was first reported. Subsequently, hepatitis E virus was discovered and most recent epidemics of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis have been attributed to hepatitis E virus infection. However, only a limited number of cases have been confirmed by immuno electron microscopy, polymerase chain reaction, or seroconversion. In the present study we have performed a retrospective seroepidemiologic study of 17 epidemics of water-borne hepatitis in India. We have confirmed that 16 of the 17 epidemics were caused at least in part by serologically closely related hepatitis E viruses. However, one epidemic, in the Andaman Islands, and possibly a significant minority of cases in other epidemics, appears to have been caused by a previously unrecognized hepatitis agent.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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