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Acute sporadic hepatitis in Sudanese children
Author(s) -
Hyams K. C.,
Hussain M. A. M.,
AlArabi M. A.,
Atallah N. AlHuda,
ElTigani A.,
McCarthy M. C.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.1890330202
Subject(s) - medicine , jaundice , hepatitis a , hepatitis , hbsag , viral hepatitis , hepatitis b , acute hepatitis , hepatitis e , virology , immunology , hepatitis b virus , pediatrics , virus , biology , genotype , biochemistry , gene
Eighty consecutive cases of acute viral hepatitis and 80 controls selected from a public pediatric clinic were entered into a study of acute sporadic hepatitis in Khartoum, Sudan. Study subjects were 14 years of age or younger and were mainly from a low socioeconomic level. Non‐A, non‐B hepatitis was diagnosed by exclusion in 35 (43.8%) patients, hepatitis A in 27 (33.8%), acute hepatitis B in 8 (10.0%), possible Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) hepatitis in 1 patient; and dual hepatitis A and B infection in 1 patient. Eight acute cases were positive for HBsAg but negative for anti‐HBc IgM and anti‐HAV IgM. Delta hepatitis was not identified in any study subject. A household case of jaundice and acquaintance with an individual outside of the household with jaundice during the prior 6 months were associated with non‐A, non‐B hepatitis. There was no association between parenteral exposure and non‐A, non‐B hepatitis. These findings suggest that enterically transmitted non‐A, non‐B hepatitis may be a major cause of acute sporadic hepatitis in children in this area, as well as a cause of epidemic hepatitis.