[The current problems in the epidemiology and prevention of enteric viral hepatitis in Russia]

The presence of great differences in the activity of the epidemic process of hepatitis A (HA) in some regions of Russia is shown and the data necessary for establishing the structure of HA foci in groups of children, as well as the proportion of different forms of the disease registered in such foci (the icteric form in 22.7% of patients, the obliterated form in 11.3% of patients, the nonicteric form in 45.5% of patients and the asymptomatic form in 20.5% of patients), are presented. The study revealed that the shedding of HA virus occurred at an early stage (5-10 before a rise in alanine aminotransferase activity in the blood was registered), its excretion lasted for a short time (till jaundice appeared) and no chronic carriership of HA virus was registered. The hospitalization of HA patients after the appearance of jaundice was proved to be unjustified, while measures aimed at the rupture of the fecal-oral mechanism of the transmission of HA virus were shown to have good prospects. The epidemiological features of hepatitis E (HE) are considered. HE cases constituted 2-3.6% of all patients with acute viral hepatitis in Moscow (all these cases were brought from Central Asia). The outbreaks of this infection in the countries of Central Asia were shown to be due to the transmission of the infective agent by the water route. The data on the first results of the use of high-titer specific immunoglobulin for the prophylaxis of HE among 135 pregnant women (only one of these women contacted HE, while in a similar group of women used for control 4 HE cases were registered) are presented.