Acute sporadic non-A, non-B hepatitis in a pediatric population living in Cairo, Egypt.

One-hundred and four cases of acute viral hepatitis and 100 controls 13 years of age and less were entered into a study of acute hepatitis in children in Cairo, Egypt. Study subjects, who were mainly from a lower socioeconomic level, were selected from a public pediatric clinic. Acute non-A, non-B hepatitis was diagnosed in 51 (49%) patients, hepatitis A in 46 (44%), possible hepatitis B in three (3%), and EBV hepatitis in four (4%) patients. Contact with a family member with jaundice was found to be significantly associated with hepatitis A. A history of a blood transfusion, a medical injection, and knowledge of an individual outside of the household with jaundice during the prior six months were significantly associated with non-A, non-B hepatitis. A significant association was not found between the type of hepatitis and the age and gender of study subjects and the extent of household crowding. In this pediatric population living in an urban area of a developing country, non-A, non-B hepatitis was found to be a major cause of acute sporadic hepatitis.