View source for 2009 Gujarat hepatitis outbreak

{{Infobox News event
|image=Modasa-Gujrat.png
|caption=Location of [[Modasa]] in [[Gujarat]]
|date= early 2009
|place= [[Modasa]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]
|casualties1= 49 dead<ref name="ndtv"/>
|casualties2= 125+ infected<ref name="cnn"/>
|casualties3=
|notes=
}}

The '''2009 Gujarat hepatitis B outbreak''' was a cluster of [[hepatitis B]] cases that appeared in [[Modasa]], northern [[Gujarat]], [[India]] in 2009. Over 125 people were infected and up to 49 people died.<ref name="ndtv">{{cite news|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090084387&ch=2/22/2009%202:28:00%20PM|title=Doctor arrested in Gujarat Hepatitis-B outbreak case |date=2009-02-22|publisher=NDTV|access-date=2009-02-22}}</ref><ref name="cnn"/> Several doctors were investigated and arrested after the outbreaks.

==Hepatitis B==
{{main|Hepatitis B virus}}
The hepatitis B virus infects the [[liver]]  and causes an [[inflammation]] called [[hepatitis]]. It is a [[DNA virus]] and one of many unrelated viruses that cause [[Hepatitis#Viral|viral hepatitis]]. The disease, originally known as "serum hepatitis",<ref name="pmid8769597">{{cite journal |vauthors=Barker LF, Shulman NR, Murray R |title=Transmission of serum hepatitis. 1970 |journal=JAMA |volume=276 |issue=10 |pages=841–4 |year=1996 |pmid=8769597 |doi=10.1001/jama.276.10.841|display-authors=etal}}</ref> has caused [[epidemic]]s in parts of [[Asia]] and [[Africa]], and it is [[endemic (epidemiology)|endemic]] in [[Hepatitis B in China|China]].<ref name="pmid16941687">{{cite journal |author=Williams R |title=Global challenges in liver disease |journal=Hepatology |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=521–6 |year=2006 |pmid=16941687 |doi=10.1002/hep.21347|doi-access=free }}</ref>  About a third of the [[world population|world's population]], more than 2 billion people, have been infected with the hepatitis B virus.<ref>[https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/index.html WHO | Hepatitis B]</ref> This includes 350 million chronic carriers of the virus.<ref>[http://liver.stanford.edu/Education/faq.html FAQ about Hepatitis B] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209213644/http://liver.stanford.edu/Education/faq.html |date=2009-02-09 }}, Stanford University School of Medicine</ref> The acute illness causes liver inflammation, vomiting and [[jaundice]]. The infection is preventable by [[Hepatitis B vaccine|vaccination]].<ref name="pmid17673066">{{cite journal |vauthors=Pungpapong S, Kim WR, Poterucha JJ |title=Natural history of hepatitis B virus infection: an update for clinicians |journal=Mayo Clin. Proc. |volume=82 |issue=8 |pages=967–75 |year=2007 |pmid=17673066 |doi=10.4065/82.8.967|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Transmission of hepatitis B results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood. Possible forms of transmission include (but are not limited to) [[safe sex|unprotected sexual contact]], [[blood transfusion]]s, [[needle sharing|re-use of contaminated needles]] & syringes, and [[vertical transmission]] from mother to child during childbirth.  HBV can be transmitted between family members within households, possibly by contact of nonintact skin or mucous membrane with secretions or saliva containing HBV.<ref name="pmid791124">{{cite journal |vauthors=Petersen NJ, Barrett DH, Bond WW, Berquist KR, Favero MS, Bender TR, Maynard JE |title=Hepatitis B surface antigen in saliva, impetiginous lesions, and the environment in two remote Alaskan villages |journal=Appl. Environ. Microbiol. |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=572–574 |year=1976 |doi=10.1128/AEM.32.4.572-574.1976 |pmid=791124 |pmc=170308}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.health.vic.gov.au/ideas/diseases/hepb |title=Hepatitis B - the facts: IDEAS - Victorian Government Health Information, Australia |publisher=Health.vic.gov.au |access-date=2009-02-23 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228122854/http://www.health.vic.gov.au/ideas/diseases/hepb |archivedate=28 February 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, at least 30% of reported cases of hepatitis B among adults cannot be associated with an identifiable risk factor.<ref name="pmid8392167">{{cite journal |author=Shapiro CN |title=Epidemiology of hepatitis B |journal=Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=433–7 |year=1993 |pmid=8392167 |doi=10.1097/00006454-199305000-00036|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1234812 }}</ref>

==Arrests==
The doctors were accused of re-using [[syringe]]s, which had been contaminated with [[hepatitis B virus]], to treat other patients. Eight medical practitioners, including doctors Govind and Chintal Patel, were arrested under the [[Indian Penal Code]] for [[culpable homicide#India|culpable homicide not amounting to murder]] after allegedly re-using infected syringes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5g29tQIR3Aol0TtjjR-R90_GzGteg|title=Doctors held over hepatitis deaths|date=2009-02-22|publisher=Press Association|access-date=2009-02-22}}</ref> One of them was also charged with [[attempted murder]].<ref name="cnn"/> Most of the people affected had received medical treatment from Dr. Patel in the last six months. Medical officials conducted a raid on Patel's clinic and found several used syringes and other medical waste.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/22/india.hepatitis/ |title=India hepatitis death toll reaches 38 |publisher=CNN |date=2009-02-22 |access-date=22 February 2009  |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226181629/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/22/india.hepatitis/ |archivedate=26 February 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HT">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=0b0835af-bd77-4947-9f15-4ea6733dc33f&MatchID1=4932&TeamID1=7&TeamID2=8&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1247&PrimaryID=4932&Headline=Hepatitis+outbreak%3a+2+doctors+booked+for+culpable+homicide |title=Hepatitis outbreak: 2 doctors booked for culpable homicide |access-date=2009-02-22 |publisher=Press Trust of India |date=2009-02-22 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225030841/http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=0b0835af-bd77-4947-9f15-4ea6733dc33f&MatchID1=4932&TeamID1=7&TeamID2=8&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1247&PrimaryID=4932&Headline=Hepatitis%2Boutbreak%3A%2B2%2Bdoctors%2Bbooked%2Bfor%2Bculpable%2Bhomicide |archivedate=25 February 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Reaction==
The [[Government of Gujarat]] started a mass [[immunization]] drive under strict medical supervision in Modasa, which set up 60 booths in Modasa and nearby cities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/Hepatitis-B-toll-up-to-35/articleshow/4167548.cms|title=Hepatitis-B toll up to 35|date=2009-02-22|publisher=Times of India|access-date=2009-02-22}}</ref> 224 medical teams, including some from [[All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences]] and [[National Institute of Virology, Pune|National Institute of Virology]] have set up camps in Modasa, and will remain there for at least a month.<ref name="ndtv"/><ref name="sify">{{cite news|url=http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14860102&?vsv=TopHP7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508133102/http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14860102&?vsv=TopHP7|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-05-08|title=Modassa residents blame Gujarat govt for spread of Hepatitis B |date=2008-02-22|publisher=Sify News|access-date=2009-02-22}}</ref> According to the officials 25,000 [[vaccines]] were sent to the most affected area and 600,000 more vaccines are being arranged from [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]].<ref name="exprs">{{cite news|url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/state-govt-opts-for-mass-immunisation-drive-to-counter-hepatitis-b-outbreak/426615/|title=State govt opts for mass immunisation drive to counter Hepatitis B outbreak|access-date=2009-02-22}}</ref> In addition, the government distributed 30,000 pamphlets and mounted a campaign to inform residents about the disease.<ref name="sify"/>

The Health Department of the Gujarat government have sent 600,000 doses of vaccine to the area.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090084387 |title=NDTV Report |access-date=2009-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225134231/http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090084387 |archive-date=2009-02-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Introduction to viruses]]
* [[Virus]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Disasters in India in 2009}}
{{Epidemics}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=Hepatitis outbreaks, Disease outbreaks in India, 21st-century epidemics, History of Gujarat (1947–present), Disasters in Gujarat, Hepatitis B, Healthcare in Gujarat, 2009 health disasters
|description=
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[[Category:Hepatitis outbreaks]]
[[Category:2009 disasters in India|Gujarat hepatitis outbreak]]
[[Category:2000s disease outbreaks|2009 Gujarat hepatitis outbreak]]
[[Category:Disease outbreaks in India]]
[[Category:21st-century epidemics]]
[[Category:History of Gujarat (1947–present)]]
[[Category:Disasters in Gujarat]]
[[Category:Hepatitis B]]
[[Category:Healthcare in Gujarat]]
[[Category:2009 health disasters]]