Massive hepatitis A outbreak in Sri Lanka in 2009: an indication of increasing susceptibility and epidemiological shift?

Abstract

Sri Lanka experienced an unprecedented outbreak of hepatitis A in 2009. We extracted data from different sources to get a proper estimate of actual disease incidence during that period. This data show a total number of 13,477 cases in 2009 which is one of the largest outbreaks in recent history. We confirmed the etiological diagnosis as hepatitis A among armed forces towards the end of the outbreak. This massive outbreak shows the potential risk of future outbreaks due to epidemiological shifts of hepatitis A infection in Sri Lanka.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljid.v3i2.5640 Sri Lankan Journal of Infectious Diseases 2013; Vol.3(2):28-30

Keywords

• hepatitis a
• outbreak
• sri lanka
• endemic