Co-circulation of genotype IA and new variant IB hepatitis A virus in outbreaks of acute hepatitis in Hungary--2003/2004.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is one of the most important causes of acute infectious hepatitis worldwide. In Hungary, the reported number of HAV infections has been decreasing in the last four decades, nevertheless, still, each year 500-800 new cases and multiple outbreaks occur, particularly in the northeast region of Hungary. In Hungary, serology is used routinely to establish the diagnosis of HAV infection without genetic analysis of HAV strains for molecular epidemiology.

[Molecular detection and sequence analysis of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in two outbreaks in 2004 in North East Hungary].

Introduction: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is the most important cause of acute infectious hepatitis worldwide. In Hungary, the reported number of HAV infections decreasing in the last decades, however, in every year approximately 500-800 new cases occur. In Hungary, particularly in North East region not only sporadic cases but also outbreaks of HAV are happen from time to time.