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Viral hepatitis highly prevalent in Pakistan
CDC. MMWR. 2011:60:1385-1390.
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The transmission of all viral hepatitis types is circulating in Pakistan, according to recent hepatitis surveillance system data. Specifically, new hepatitis C virus infections were the most frequently reported.
Of the 712 cases of viral hepatitis reported to the system, 53.2% were newly reported HCV infection, 19.8% were acute hepatitis A, 12.2% were acute hepatitis E and 10.8% were newly reported hepatitis B virus infection.
For the study, CDC researchers, led by Rana M. Safdar, MBBS, of the CDC’s field epidemiology and laboratory training program, pooled June 2010 to March 2011 data from the hepatitis sentinel surveillance system. The system was established in five large public hospitals across four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory in Pakistan.
Most patients with any type of viral hepatitis reported consuming unboiled water. “Because most drinking water in Pakistan is contaminated, persons are encouraged to boil their drinking water,” the researchers wrote.
In an accompanying editorial, CDC officials wrote: “Data collected through Pakistan’s sentinel surveillance system show that viral hepatitis remains a major public health problem in Pakistan. The data support the need for educating health care providers and the public about the risk for HBV and HCV transmission through unsafe and unnecessary injections, promoting proper infection control practices and hepatitis B vaccination for infants and improving access to clean water to prevent further transmission of hepatitis A and hepatitis E in Pakistan.”
Further, having undergone surgery, exposure to therapeutic injections, IV infusions and skin piercing were more commonly reported among those with HBV and HCV vs. other types of hepatitis.
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