A recent study conducted by Metropolis Healthcare ahead of World Hepatitis Day 2014 found a worrying trend of hepatitis B and C in major cities of India like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

Hepatitis B is an infectious inflammatory condition of the liver caused due to hepatitis B virus that spreads through exposure to infectious blood, vaginal fluid, and semen. In order to understand the intensity of the disease in Mumbai, Metropolis Healthcare conducted an inclusive survey on 78,102 samples, out of the samples studies, 20.28 per cent of the total sample were found positive for hepatitis B.

The survey unveils the worrying trend of hepatitis B in kid’s population of Mumbai, over 32.74 per cent of children were identified with the symptoms of hepatitis B. Second maximum samples for the hepatitis B belonged to 20 to 40 years. The study found that since the younger age group is a sexually active group, and given the fact that hepatitis B is a silent disease; the chances of infection spread are high.

The disease can remain undiagnosed for years together, until the associated symptoms get pronounced. Also, the fact that this is the economically productive age group the economic loss to the country because of the disease is undisputable.

A significant finding of the survey also reported 17.97 per cent of the total sample was found hepatitis C positive. hepatitis C virus (HCV) is leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide which may ultimately lead to liver cirrhosis or fibrosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. The maximum positive samples for hepatitis C belonged to the age group of 20 to 30 years.

HCV is spread most commonly through unintentional exposure to infected blood. This was followed by a fairly substantial number of kids examined during the survey showed the symptoms of HCV  positive. Out of 10,534 the tested sample in the age group of 0 to 10 years, 3254 samples tested positive with hepatitis C.