Abstract

Background: Acute viral hepatitis (AVH) is defined as those cases which have acute self-limited disease and a serum aspartate aminotransferase elevation of at least 5-fold or clinical jaundice or both. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common cause of acute hepatitis and common cause of jaundice in pregnant women.

Objective: To study the seroprevalence and maternal mortality of HEV in AVH during pregnancy.

Materials and Methods: 220 patients admitted in Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital, Ahmedabad, during August 2014 to July 2015 that presented with symptoms of AVH and satisfied the clinical, biochemical criteria for participation were included in this study and tested for anti-HEV immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: Out of the total 220 patients 63 (28.64%) were positive for anti-HEV IgM antibodies where patients 37 (58%) are belongs to age group 21-25 years and mean age was 23.80 ± 3.13 years. Majority of the patients were from lower socioeconomical class 130 (59.1%) and positivity in them 51 (81%). The maternal mortality was 22% and showed in the third trimester 31.03%, followed by second trimester 21.05% and first trimester 6.66%.

Conclusion: Infection with HEV is an important cause of morbidity and mortality and representing a significance risk for pregnant women and indicates the need of appropriate strategies to reduce it.

Key words: Hepatitis E Virus; Acute Viral Hepatitis; Pregnancy; Seroprevalence; Maternal Mortality