Viral Hepatitis in a Group of Boston Hospitals

Abstract

REVIEW of the records of 1675 patients with hepatitis hospitalized in Boston from 1951 through 1962 revealed that two thirds had acquired the disease without having been recently exposed to conventionally recognized sources, such as transfusions or jaundiced persons.¹ It was postulated that many of them might have contracted hepatitis from more obscure but potential exposures, such as dental procaine injections,² ingestion of raw shellfish³ and even contact with the ubiquitous household cockroach.⁴ It was also recognized that the original investigations that have implicated such activities as hepatitis risks might never have been undertaken if some unusual contamination had not . . .