CONCURRENT INFECTION OF SALMONELLA HEPATITIS IN LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT OF ASSAM

Abstract

Hepatitis A is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus which occurs
globally and is causing a public health concern, primarily in developing countries. In
tropical endemic areas like India common mode of transmission for both enteric fever
and hepatitis A are mostly through Feco-oral route. The objective of the study was to
find out the source of infection as well as descriptive epidemiological analysis in terms
of time, place and person during an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Lakhimpur district of
Assam. 2-3 ml of blood samples were collected from suspected viral hepatitis patients
followed WHO case definition. The samples were further processed for detection of
Malaria (microscopic slide), Hepatitis A &E IgM (Elisa), Typhoid (Widal and Typhi dot)
and Leptospira (IgM Elisa).Water samples collected from the drinking water source for
H2S and Most probable number (MPN) test. We identified 56 cases with two deaths.
48.21% of collected samples showed HAV IgM positive whereas no HEV IgM positive
cases found. Likely no Malaria and Leptospira cases were detected among the
suspected viral hepatitis cases. But, it was observed that 7.40% of the samples
showed mixed infection of Salmonella and HAV. 91% of the collected water sample
showed H2S positive.MPN result also revealed that those drinking water source used
by the people were contaminated with high quantity of bacilli and not suitable for
drinking purpose.