Seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus antibody in patients with chronic liver disease--experience from a tertiary care hospital in north India.

Patients with chronic liver disease of any etiology are at a high risk for a more severe outcome when superinfected with hepatitis A virus (HAV). Prevention of hepatitis A, by inactivated vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective in this subgroup of patients. Most countries in the West recommend prophylaxis against hepatitis A virus for patients with chronic liver disease. However, hepatitis A virus is endemic in India. Before advocating a uniform prophylaxis against hepatitis A for chronic liver disease patients in India, we prospectively evaluated the seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus antibody (Anti HAV) among the patients with cirrhosis of liver registered at our hospital, using a commercial enzyme-immunoassay (ELISA). Prevalence of protective antibody against HAV among the 42 Cirrhotic patients included in the study was documented to be 97.6% (41/42). Therefore, vaccination against hepatitis A virus infection may not be needed among patients with chronic liver disease in our population. However, further studies including adequate sample size is needed to confirm the observation encountered in the present study.