An epidemic of hepatitis A attributable to the ingestion of raw clams in Shanghai, China

Article Abstract:

Viral hepatitis is a liver disease that is caused by an infection with a virus. It is endemic in Shanghai, China, and it causes liver damage, fever, vomiting, nausea, and jaundice. It is estimated that between 138 and 208 people out of every 100,000 people living in Shanghai develop viral hepatitis each year. The hepatitis A virus is responsible for causing almost half (45 percent) of these cases. Raw shellfish (clams, mussels, oysters) have been reported to be responsible for causing outbreaks of typhoid fever, shigellosis, cholera, enteritis, paralytic poisoning, and hepatitis A. This article describes an outbreak of hepatitis A in Shanghai that was caused by consumption of raw clams. Over the last two decades, the greatest annual number of cases of hepatitis A in Shanghai has occurred between February and March. In 1988, an epidemic of hepatitis A occurred in January and lasted through the end of March. During this time period, there were 292,301 cases of hepatitis A. Between November 1987 and February 1988, thousands of tons of clams were delivered to Shanghai from Qi-Dong County. An epidemic of hepatitis A had occurred in Qi-Dong County in the latter part of 1987. The clams that were supplied to Shanghai were tested and found to contain the hepatitis A virus. The epidemic was controlled and terminated by monitoring food and water supplies, isolating the patients who developed hepatitis A, and providing immune globulin to protect school children and pregnant women from contracting hepatitis A. Two different vaccines for hepatitis A have been developed in China, and studies are being performed to determine if they are safe and effective in humans. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

China, Demographic aspects, Disease transmission, Hepatitis A virus, Hepatovirus, Contamination, Shanghai, China, Hepatitis A, Clams

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Antibodies to hepatitis C virus in prospectively followed patients with posttransfusion hepatitis

Article Abstract:

Hepatitis is a disease that causes inflammation and tissue damage in the liver. It produces symptoms of fever, nausea and vomiting, and results from infection with a virus. Viral hepatitis type A is often called infectious or epidemic hepatitis. Viral hepatitis type B is commonly called serum or transfusion hepatitis because it often occurs in patients who have received blood transfusions (post-transfusion hepatitis). Even though all donated blood is tested for hepatitis B virus, some patients still develop hepatitis after having a transfusion. This type of hepatitis is called non-A, non-B type hepatitis (NANB) because it is caused by a virus that is different from hepatitis viruses type A and type B. NANB is the most common cause of post-transfusion hepatitis. Previous studies have reported that a large percentage of the cases of post-transfusion NANB hepatitis are caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). To determine how many cases of NANB hepatitis are caused by HCV, 42 patients who developed hepatitis after having blood transfusions during heart surgery were assessed. Thirty-five (83 percent) of these patients had antibodies to HCV in their blood, indicating that they had been exposed to HCV. Thirty-two of the patients had higher than normal levels of a liver enzyme called alanine transferase (ALT) in their blood, suggestive of chronic hepatitis. These results demonstrate that HCV is a major cause of hepatitis following blood transfusion. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Hepatitis C virus

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Hepatitis C prevalence and risk factors in the Northern Alberta dialysis population

Article Abstract:

A decline in transfusion-acquired hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was found in a study of risk factors for HCV infection and its prevalence in the Northern Alberta, Canada, dialysis population. Subjects numbered 336. Evidence against nosocomial transmission of HCV emerged and the study documented lifestyle risk factors not known before. Transfusion before 1990 was only marginally associated with HCV status. In multiply transfused renal dialysis patients HCV is especially relevant and it is an emerging global public health factor.

Alberta, Risk factors, Dialysis, Dialysis (Chemical process)

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