Seroepidemiology of hepatitis A virus in Hyderabad, South India

The present study was carried to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis A virus (HAV) IgM antibody among general population in Hyderabad since January 2002 to December 2011. A total of 4571 subjects were selected and divided into groups on the basis of age. The serum samples were screened for the presence of HAV IgM antibodies (anti-HAV IgM) using a commercially available enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Of the 4571 serum samples, 4257 were negative and 314 (6.87%) were positive for the HAV IgM assay. The disease predominance was more in males (212) with 67.51% compared to females (102) with 32.48%. Anti-HAV seroprevalence was measured for the following age groups: Early (≤20 years), Middle (21-40 years) and Late (≥41 years). Average age-wise IgM-anti-HAV positivity from 2002-2011 was 234 of 314 in ≤20 years, 74.52%), 73 of 314 (21-40 years, 23.24%), and 7 of 314 (≥41 years, 2.22%). The present study will provide insights to the recent epidemiologic features of HAV infection in South India.