Hepatitis A and e in potable water: A threat to health

Water is a vital asset, required to maintain the basic life process of living being. Therefore, clean water is imperative as waterborne diseases still pose a major critical risk factor in drinking water quality. The WHO has recommended the quality standards of drinking water to avoid waterborne infections. The contamination of drinking water may be through physical, chemical, and biological means. The pathogen concerned with biological way includes many types of bacteria, viruses, helminthes, and protozoa which vary generally in size, structure, and composition with different disease manifestation. The contamination of drinking water especially with viruses is a global issue not only for undeveloped and developing countries, but also for developed ones. Enterically transmitted water-borne hepatitis is recognized as a major public health problem in many developing countries. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and Hepatitis E virus (HEV) are reported to be the most common cause of infectious hepatitis epidemic outbreaks transmitted through water, especially in developing countries. Though both viruses generally lead to self-limiting symptomatic disease, fulminant hepatic failure with fatal outcome occurs in a small proportion of patients. The control and prevention of enterically transmitted viral hepatitis remains a major public health challenge. The present chapter is intended to give a brief account of the various aspects of hepatitis A and hepatitis E, i.e. virulence, pathogenesis, clinical aspects, diagnosis, immunology, epidemiology and its prevention.