Waterborne and Foodborne Viral Hepatitis: A Perspective from the Developing and Developed Countries

This chapter focuses on the two hepatitis-causing viruses which are primarily transmitted faeco-orally. Both Hepatitis A and E are single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses with lengths of more than 7 kb. For both these viruses, the prevalence is mostly in the developing countries where the level of sanitation is a major concern. Studies on zoonotic transmission rate and hosts acting as reservoirs are also underway. The classification tree places HAV under family Picornaviridae and genus Hepatovirus and HEV under family Hepeviridae and genus Orthohepevirus in case of Mammalian and avian isolates. The replication machinery, clinical manifestations, therapeutic approaches and control measures with respect to both these viruses have been explained in this chapter.