Epidemiology of non A non B hepatitis in Jeddah, KSA with special reference to aminotransferases as a prognostic criterion.

: Viral hepatitis is still a major public health problem all over the world. The introduction of recent methods for diagnosis, improved hygienic and health standards, screening of blood donors together with the availability of vaccines helped greatly in reduction of viral hepatitis in some countries. However, NANB hepatitis is still widespread and constitutes a medical challenge. Since long time, epidemiologic speculation of the presence of more than one virus causing the disease was put forward. In 1956 the first report on a patient with more than two epidoses of acute hepatitis was published. Recently reliable methods for diagnosis of hepatitis A, hepatitis B and delta hepatitis became available. The presence of acute hepatitis in absence of specific serological markers of HAV, HBV and HDV is considered as NANB hepatitis. The diagnosis of the latter disease remains a matter of exclusion in spite of the tremendous efforts to formulate specific tests for diagnosis. Even the experience with immunofluorescence techniques were not successful. At least two routes of transmission are recognized; blood transfusion (endemic) and fecal-oral (epidemic). The course of the disease is usually benign but a good percent proceed to chronicity. Some described severe necrotizing NANB hepatitis complicated by pancytopenia. Very little has been known about NANB hepatitis in Saudi Arabia.