[Hepatitis C patients' record in the Sentinel Units for viral Hepatitis in Argentina 2007- 2014. Distribution by year of birth]. / Registro de pacientes con hepatitis C en las Unidades Centinela para hepatitis virales en Argentina, 2007 - 2014. Distribución por año de nacimiento.

Recommendations for Hepatitis C screening based on risk factorsfor transmission proved to be ineffcient. Accordingly, the CDC recommended to screen all American individuals born between 1945-1965, based on data from population prevalence of infection. The effectiveness of implementing these recommendations in other contexts and/or populations can be estimated, in principle, knowing the age distribution of infected individuals. There is no data on population prevalence in our country. Yet we can know the age distribution of cases of Hepatitis C who accessed the health system. The aim of this paper is to analyze the distribution by birth cohort ofcases registered as "Hepatitis C" in the Sentinel Units for Viral Hepatitis in the 2007-2014 period. This will contribute to the identification, if any, ofa cohort in which case the recommendation of screening could be addressed, based on risk factors inherent to our country and our epidemiological reality. The age distribution of our cases was wider and younger than those of the population supporting the recommendation of the CDC and this suggests -beyond the difference in the populations being compared- is due to a range of risk factors and age at different infection between USA and Argentina. Thus, based on these results, the recommendation of the Argentine Consensus for Hepatitis C in 2013 to screen all individuals once in life is supported.

Identifications of polyphyletic variants in acute hepatitis suggest an underdiagnosed circulation of hepatitis E virus in Argentina.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, an increasing number of infections with genotype 3 hepatitis E virus (HEV) have been reported in western countries. Data in South America, however, are still scarce. Swine and human variants previously described in Argentina are closely related to a human Austrian one. OBJECTIVE: To identify whether HEV is still circulating in Argentina. STUDY DESIGN: Sera and stool samples from adults and children with unexplained acute liver disease referred to our center during the last six years were prospectively studied. Dual infection with hepatitis A was retrospectively studied in a group of children with fulminant hepatic failure. RESULTS: Fifteen new cases (13 adults and 2 children), seven of whom required hospitalization, were diagnosed. Nine had detectable HEV RNA, and one had imported genotype 1. Subgenotype 3i HEV-related variants are still circulating. Five autochthonous sequences, related to European, American and Japanese ones, grouped in subgenotype 3a. One case had a subgenotype 3b variant. DISCUSSION: The polyphyletic variants widespread in Argentina suggest multiple sources of infection. Whether or not their reservoir is swine merits further investigation. Since hepatitis E is still considered rare, differential laboratory testing in unexplained acute liver disease is not routinely performed in Argentina. Broadening awareness of this disease is important in light of the decrease in hepatitis A incidence since universal vaccination was implemented in 2005. The diagnosis of hepatitis E with a combination of serological and molecular tools is needed to better understand its epidemiology and impact on the clinical management of patients with unexplained increased transaminases.