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Abstract

Background

Hepatitis A is an acute infection of the liver caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV). Molecular detection and typing of the HAV VP1/P2A genomic region is used for genotyping and outbreak investigations. After a large hepatitis A outbreak in Latvia in 2007–08, only sporadic cases were registered until 2017 when a rise in cases occurred. During 2017–19, 179 laboratory-confirmed hepatitis A cases were notified in Latvia.

Aim

To investigate the observed increase in hepatitis A cases during 2017 and to determine whether these cases were linked to one another, to risk groups, or to other outbreaks. The majority of HAV samples (69.8%) were typed.

Methods

The VP1/P2A genomic region of HAV was amplified and sequenced for 125 case serum samples. Information about hepatitis-related symptoms, hospitalisation, vaccination, a possible source of infection and suspected countries of origin of the virus were analysed for sequenced cases.

Results

Most HAV strains were subgenotype IA (n = 77), of which 41 were strains circulating among men who have sex with men (MSM) populations in Europe (VRD_521_2016 (n = 32), RIVM-HAV16–090 (n = 7) or V16–25801 (n = 2)). Forty-four cases were subgenotype IB and four cases subgenotype IIIA. However, other clusters and sporadic cases were detected with or without identifying the epidemiological link.

Conclusion

This work represents molecular epidemiological data of hepatitis A cases in Latvia from 2017 to 2019. Molecular typing methods allow identification of clusters for public health needs and establishing links with other outbreaks, and to compare Latvian strains with reported strains from other countries.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.11.2100415
2022-03-17
2024-12-22
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.11.2100415
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Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis A outbreaks and sporadic cases, Latvia, 2017 to 2019
<p class="citation"> <span>Citation style for this article:</span> <span class="meta-value authors"> <a href="/search?value1=Oksana+Savicka&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Savicka Oksana</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Reinis+Zeltmatis&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Zeltmatis Reinis</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Jelena+Storozenko&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Storozenko Jelena</a></span>. Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis A outbreaks and sporadic cases, Latvia, 2017 to 2019. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2022;27(11):pii=2100415. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.11.2100415" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.11.2100415</a> <span class="ES_Article_citation"> <span class="generated">Received</span>: 30 Mar 2021;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="generated">Accepted</span>: 24 Oct 2021 </span> </p>
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.11.2100415
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.11.2100415
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