Frequency of Hepatitis A & E Infections in Adult Patients of Acute Hepatitis

Objective: To study the frequency of Hepatitis A Virus and Hepatitis E Virus infections in adult patients of acute hepatitis in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore. Methods: All samples received from medical units (indoor and outdoor) of Mayo hospital Lahore from 26 Feb.2019 to 26.Sept.2019, for Hepatitis A & E IgM antibody testing by ELISA were included in the study. The results and other relevant information were recorded on proforma. Results: Out of 690 study subjects, 62% were male and 38% were female. The mean age ± SD was 33.8 + 7.4years. The percentage of HAV or HEV infected cases was 59%,and 41% were not infected with HAV or HEV. The frequency and percentage of Hepatitis AVirus was 62(15%),whereas the frequency and percentage of HEV was 327(80%) and that of co-infection with HAV and HEV was 21(5%). The mean + SD age of Hepatitis AVirus was 35.2 + 5.0,whereas the mean + SD age of Hepatitis E Virus and co-infection with Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E Virus were 31.45 + 2.3 and 22.6 + 6.3 years, respectively. Conclusion: Hepatitis E Virus is the commonest cause of acute hepatitis in our study,followed by hepatitis A Virus and coinfection of HAV and HEV. Key words: Frequency, Hepatitis A infection, Hepatitis E infection, Co- infection Hepatitis A & Hepatitis E.