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Medical reporting carries a much bigger responsibility. Today while i was just reading Times of India, I was concerned to read this news story – Hepatitis E: Alarm in Maha after deaths.


Instead of commenting on the contents of this news story, I am directing you to a link giving information about Hepatitis People take everything damn seriously whatever appears in print and it is all the more true in case of English print media.
It is clear that like Hepatitis A, the spread of Hepatitis E is also through oro-faecal  route.  Poor sanitation and contamination play a big role in the spread of disease. Most of the time it is self-limiting. It is not that it can’t be prevented owing to a lack of vaccine, it can be controlled to a large extent by following simple rules of personal hygiene and access to clean, drinking water which is becoming a challenge for the countries world over.
I wish if you have already read this news story in today’s paper, then you should also have a cursory look at the WHO website for getting authentic information about this disease.
Hepatitis E should be suspected in outbreaks of waterborne hepatitis occurring in developing countries, especially if the disease is more severe in pregnant women, or if hepatitis A has been excluded. If laboratory tests are not available, epidemiologic evidence can help in establishing a diagnosis.
Hepatitis E is a viral disease, and as such, antibiotics are of no value in the treatment of the infection. There is no hyperimmune E globulin available for pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis. HEV infections are usually self-limited, and hospitalization is generally not required. No available therapy is capable of altering the course of acute infection.
By the way , what are your views about the news story which has appeared in today’s Times of India?

WHO : Hepatitis E
PS…. I had to put here a scanned image of the report as i could not find out the same in the online edition.