Comparative prevalence of different types of viral hepatitis in the district Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Viral hepatitis causes both liver inflammation and damage and is a serious health problem. Methods: The indoor data of different types of hepatitis were collected from the official records of the administration of District Head Quarter Hospital Dera Ismail Khan for 2 years (2020–2021). Results: A total of 1193 cases of viral hepatitis during the study period were found including viral hepatitis C accounted for 547 (45.9%) cases, followed by the co-infection of viral hepatitis A and E 367 (30.8%) cases, and viral hepatitis B 279 (23.4%) cases. March showed the highest prevalence of hepatitis (33.2%), followed by February (10.2%). The co-infection of hepatitis A and E showed a relatively higher prevalence in 6 months from May to November except September including a peak in June (76.5%) during the study period. While viral hepatitis B demonstrated a comparatively higher percentage prevalence in both February and September with a peak in February (68%), and viral hepatitis C is dominant in January, March, and December with a peak in March (83.8%). Conclusion: All types of viral hepatitis showed variation in prevalence over months and monthly variation concerning peak prevalence exists among different types of hepatitis. Both viral hepatitis A and E demonstrated similar trend in relative prevalence in both 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, viral hepatitis A and B showed monthly and seasonal variation in relatively prevalence in both years. The study help in adopting strategies for the prevention of viral hepatitis in the study area.