Profile of viral hepatitis patients in Dakhliya, Oman

OBJECTIVE: With the availability of routine serological diagnosis of all the major forms of viral hepatitis, namely, A, B, C, D, E consequent to initiation of National Viral Hepatitis Surveillance, the twin objective of the study was to assess the trend of various types of viral hepatitis and analyze the profile of the patients in the region of Al Dakhliya. METHODS: A one year prospective cohort, of all the suspects of viral hepatitis enrolled from 01/08/2003 to 31/07/2004 involving all health facilities (a total of 18 health institutions) of Dakhliya region, Sultanate of Oman, was subjected to centralized laboratory confirmation. Notification of viral hepatitis confirmed cases was the tool for analysis. A subset of unconfirmed viral hepatitis cases that were admitted and discharged from the referral hospital were retrieved and analyzed utilizing their computerized hospital records. RESULTS: There was a shift of incidence of hepatitis B towards higher age groups (32.4 +/- 16.2 years) with only one case under 15 years of age (p<0.0001). While as under 15 year age group was less prone to hepatitis C (p<0.05), it had a high incidence for hepatitis A with mean age 11.4 +/- 13.9 years (p<0.01). Hepatitis E incidence had a higher mean age of 44.6 +/- 24.1 years with insignificant linear trend (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Progress in decline of viral hepatitis B has occurred at a rapid pace during the last decade following successful intervention of immunization against hepatitis with an almost 100% coverage. Affliction of younger age groups to hepatitis A is indicative of continued transmission of the disease in the community demanding improvements in preventive practices to curb any impending outbreak.