Global outbreaks of foodborne hepatitis A: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Aravind P Gandhi; Mohammed Al-Mohaithef; P Aparnavi; Monika Bansal; Prakasini Satapathy; Neelima Kukreti; Sarvesh Rustagi; Mahalaqua Nazli Khatib; Shilpa Gaidhane; Quazi Syed Zahiruddin

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28810

Global outbreaks of foodborne hepatitis A: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Heliyon. 2024 Mar 29;10(7):e28810. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28810. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, India.
² Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Community Medicine, KMCH Institute of Health Sciences & Research, Coimbatore, India.
⁴ MarksMan Healthcare, Research Services, Hyderabad, India.
⁵ Center for Global Health Research, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
⁶ Medical Laboratories Techniques Department, AL-Mustaqbal University, 51001, Hillah, Babil, Iraq.
⁷ School of Pharmacy, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, 248001, India.
⁸ School of Applied and Life Sciences, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.
⁹ Division of Evidence Synthesis, Global Consortium of Public Health and Research, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education, Wardha, India.
¹⁰ One Health Centre (COHERD), Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education, Wardha, India.
¹¹ South Asia Infant Feeding Research Network (SAIFRN), Division of Evidence Synthesis, Global Consortium of Public Health and Research, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education, Wardha, India.

Abstract

Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) is a significant threat in terms of food safety. A systematic literature search with the research question "What are the clinical outcomes of foodborne Hepatitis A virus infections?" was conducted. The pooled estimate of the outcomes-mortality, hospitalization, and severity rates, along with a 95% confidence interval (CI), was estimated. After screening, 33 studies were included for the data extraction and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of hospitalization among the HAV-positive patients was estimated to be 32% (95% CI 21-44), with high heterogeneity (I² = 98%, p < 0.01). Australia had the highest hospitalization rate, with 82%, followed by Europe (42%). The hospitalization rate showed a significantly increasing trend (beta = 0.015, p=0.002) over the period. The pooled prevalence of mortality among the HAV-positive patients was estimated to be <1%, with low heterogeneity (I² = 5%, p = 0.39). A wide range of food products were linked with the HAV outbreaks.

Keywords: Food safety; Foodborne illness; Hepatitis A; Hospitalization; Mortality; Systematic review.