A CASE OF ACUTE HEPATITIS-E IN VICTORIA

Objective: To report a case of acute hepatitis E in Victoria, confirme d by laboratory investigations. Clinical features: A 10-year-old boy p resented for medical attention with a seven-day history of anorexia an d jaundice, 17 days after arriving from Pakistan. The diagnosis of acu te hepatitis E was suspected after exclusion of the known causes of vi ral hepatitis, and was further established by specific antibody testin g and identification of hepatitis E virus-like particles in a faecal s ample collected three weeks after the onset of illness. Intervention a nd outcome: The patient was managed at home, treated symptomatically a nd made a complete recovery. Conclusion: In patients who arrive from c ountries where hepatitis E is endemic, and who develop non-A, non-B, n on-C viral hepatitis, hepatitis E should be considered as a possible d iagnosis.