An Outbreak of Infectious Hepatitis in Southwest Greenland, 1971: An Epidemiological and Serological Evaluation

Abstract

A large outbreak of infectious hepatitis (IH) in a local district in Southwest Greenland has been studied. The epidemic involved 735 clinical cases, i.e. 27% of the population. The disease was apparently transmitted by the ano-oral route through person to person contact. An incubation period of 4–5 weeks and immunoglobulin values in the sera investigated indicated that the epidemic was caused by IH virus. The outbreak was found unrelated to the occurrence of hepatitis-associated antigen (HAA) in the population. The clinical course of the disease was generally mild. One patient died from intracerebral haemorrhage. A peculiar age distribution in the diseased Greenlanders showed that a previous epidemic in 1948 had left the whole population persistently immune to IH. No similar immunity could be found among the Danes living in the area.