[Epidemiological characteristics of non-A, non-B viral hepatitis with a fecal-oral transmission mechanism].

The analysis of verified cases of non-A-non-B hepatitis with the fecal-oral mode of transmission which had occurred in one of the districts of the Turkmen SSR, 1984-1985, revealed a this infection: an explosive nature of the incidence, number of epidemiological characteristics of this infection: an explosive nature of the incidence, even distribution in the territory of the district and within one residential area, predominant affection of 15-29-year-old subjects, high mortality among hepatitis-affected pregnant women, insignificant number of secondary cases in the families of index cases. The occurrence of these non-A-non-B hepatitis cases was associated with water. The results of virological and serological studies ruled out the role of hepatitis A and B viruses in the etiology of the acute hepatitis cases occurring in the area. Anti-hepatitis A IgM was detected in the blood in only 3% of the patients in 1984 and in 2% in 1985, exclusively in young patients, and HBsAg in 11% and 9%, respectively. Immune electron microscopy revealed virus-like particles 27-30 nm in diameter in fecal extracts from the patients. The antigen of non-A-non-B hepatitis virus was detected in the first days of the jaundice period in feces of 14% of the patients in 1984 and in 11% in 1985 by an enzyme-immunoassay using a test developed at the Institute of Virology of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences.