Epidemiological profile of viral hepatitis infection in the population treated at a reference hospital in Alagoas.

Viral hepatitis are widely spread infectious diseases caused by a variety of etiological agents that displays liver tropism as a common characteristic. A descriptive, cross-sectional, observational and retrospective study was conducted through the analysis of viral hepatitis medical records treated and diagnosed from 2010 to 2015. The relationship between the variables were made through the chi-square test. 632 viral hepatitis medical records were analyzed. The highest number of cases happened in 2011. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection was predominant. The most affected age group was < 20 years and the highest number of cases observed in this age group was related to HAV (p<0.001). The acute clinical form was predominant, with 70.2% of the cases. 92.3% of which corresponded to HAV infection (p<0.001). Most of the cases occurred in the brown race and male gender. Moreover, regarding the probable source/mechanism of infection, the contact with suspicious water/food for hepatitis A cases was highlighted. The sexual form predominated in HBV infection and previous history of blood transfusion in cases of hepatitis C. Most cases were spotted in the mesoregion of Eastern Alagoas, especially in the capital Maceió. It must be observed the importance of knowing the profile of this disease in order to understand its dissemination and thus have subsidies for the creation of actions and strategies to combat the infection.