Hepatitis A Virus-related Pediatric Liver Disease Burden and its Significance in the Indian Subcontinent

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To study the Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection-related pediatric liver diseaseburden. Methods: Hospitalrecords of 431 children (age <18 y) diagnosed to be sufferingfrom acute HAV infection during 2011 to 2018 were extracted and analyzed. Additionally, aseroprevalence study was done on 2599 participants (696 children and 1903 adults).Results: HAV infection accounted for about half (48.6% of acute hepatitis and 46.5% (92/198) of acute liver failure cases) of all acute onset icteric illness, with significant morbidity andmortality. As per seroprevalence data, 16.2% of children between 10-18 years of age, and10.3% of adults aged 18-30 years remained susceptible to HAV infection. Conclusion: HAVinfection is the major contributor the overall pediatric liver disease burden. A significantproportion of subjects remain susceptible to HAV infection even after 10 years of age.Population-based studies are required to further delineate the epidemiology of HAV infectionin India for deciding introduction of HAV vaccine in the national immunization schedule.