Mariamma Kuriakose
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College, India
Title: Can Insects Transmit Hepatitis B virus?
Biography
Biography: Mariamma Kuriakose
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus is known to spread only through close contact with tissues or body fluids of an infected person either directly or indirectly. No known insect transmission of the virus has been reported in literature, although the virus has been found to survive in bed bugs for up to 6 weeks after feeding on infected hosts. But it has not been successfully transmitted in animal models. Two villages close to MOSC Medical College Hospital have shown an unusual clustering of hepatitis B cases for the last 3 years. Many of them do not have a likely route of exposure from analysis of patient history. They attribute the infection to bite from a blood sucking fly found in large numbers around their habitat. This study analyses probable routes of transmission of hepatitis B in these villages and seeks to investigate the possible insect transmission of the virus through the bite of the said blood sucking fly.