EPIDEMIOLOGY OF VIRAL HEPATITIS IN ACCRA, GHANA

Endemic viral hepatitis is a major cause of urban morbidity and mortality among young adults in West Africa. In addition to the distinctive histopathological features and unusual clinical findings among patients admitted to hospital in Accra, Ghana, there are several important aspects to the epidemiology. The increased incidence of hepatitis in Accra during the past decade is due to a combination of the large immigration of non-immune young adults moving into the city plus the increased dispersal of the virus related to the dismal socio-economic circumstances in the shanty town areas. Host factors are of primary importance in determining the clinical course; fulminating disease was related to pregnancy, immigration, shanty town residency, physically active occupation, lack of education, and a low economic standing. In contrast, prolonged jaundice from hepatitis was related to inherent biological factors such as age, sex and G6PD deficiency. © 1969 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.