Article

The changing epidemiology of hepatitis A in children and the consideration of active immunization in Korea.

Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Yonsei Medical Journal (impact factor: 1.14). 03/2000; 41(1):34-9. pp.34-9
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Currently, Korea is a low endemicity country for HAV, especially in children. However, recent reports of hepatitis A outbreaks show that there has been a shift of disease incidence to adolescents and young adults, with 2 cases of acute liver failure in one reported outbreak. We need to study the immune status for HAV in order to provide information for the establishment of preventive measures and possible consequences of HAV in Korea. A total of 334 infants, children and adolescents less than 20 years of age living in rural areas of Kyonggi Province, Korea were evaluated for anti-HAV immune status in 1996. Five hundred and eighty-four primary school children living in the same area were separately evaluated for the natural seroconversion rate between 1993 and follow-up samples taken in 1996. Anti-HAV IgG antibody was measured by enzyme immunoassay (HAVAB EIA kit, Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois, USA). In comparison with previous reports of seroprevalence rates, our data confirmed a dramatic drop in seroprevalence rates among children and adolescents under 20 years of age living in rural areas, from over 63.8% two decades ago to 4.6% in 1996. Natural acquisition of HAV antibody in primary school children rarely occurs, registering only 0.5% during three years. Several outbreaks in young adults during 1996-1998 suggested that immunity against HAV in this population is so low that massive outbreaks are unavoidable. Teenagers and young adults, especially soldiers, who are likely to be exposed to contaminated food or water, would also have a greater risk of hepatitis A. Immunizing children with HAV vaccine as a routine schedule should also be considered in Korea in the future, particularly if the disease burden could be estimated and the cost-effectiveness of the vaccine could be proved.

0 0
 · 
0 Bookmarks
 · 
27 Views
  • Source
    Article: Seroprevalence of Fecal-Oral Transmitted Hepatitis A and E Virus Antibodies in Burkina Faso
    Kuan Abdoulaye Traoré, Hortense Rouamba, Yacouba Né Bié, Mahamadou Sanou, Alfred S Traoré, Nicolas Barro, Pierre Roques
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections occur chiefly as a result of unhygienic conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the seroprevalence of antibodies to both viruses in central Burkina Faso in the absence of a recorded hepatitis epidemic. Serum samples from 178 blood donors (131 males and 47 females) and from 189 pregnant women were collected from November 2010 to March 2012, at blood banks and medical centers in Burkina Faso. An immunochromatography test was used to screen for Anti-HAV IgM and IgG in a subgroup of 91 blood donors and 100 pregnant women. The seroprevalence of anti-HAV IgG was 14.3% [CI95, 7.1–21.4%] for all blood donors and 23% [CI95, 14.8–31.2%] for pregnant women. Anti-HEV IgG were detected using the ELISA kits Dia.pro and Wantai and were found in 19.1% [CI95, 13.3–24.9%] of the blood donors and 11.6% [CI95, 7.1–16.2%] of the pregnant women. The seroprevalences of anti-HAV and anti-HEV IgGs did not differ significantly between men and women blood donors. Anti-HAV IgM was detected in 3.3% of the blood donors and in 2% of the pregnant women. These findings for asymptomatic individuals indicate that the HAV and HEV circulate at low but significant levels. This is the first evaluation of the acute hepatitis virus burden in Burkina Faso and the underlying epidemiologic status of the population. Copyright: ß 2012 Traoré et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. (PR); nicolas_barro@univ-ouaga.bf (NB) . These authors contributed equally to this work.
    PLoS ONE 10/2012; · 4.09 Impact Factor
  • Source
    Article: Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis A among blood donors in Qazvin, central Iran.
    H Ramezani, S H Bozorgi, M Nooranipour, A Mostajeri, H Kargar-Fard, S Molaverdikhani, A Mazdaki, S M Alavian
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a major global health problem, especially in developing countries. Although children aged 5-14 years are the most infected age group, all age groups are equally affected in an HAV epidemic. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and related risk factors of HAV among blood donors in Qazvin, central Iran. A cross-sectional study was performed in April 2008 on a total of 351 blood donors aged 17 to 60 years. Information on demographic variables and probable risk factors was recorded. The blood samples were investigated for antibodies to HAV (HAV Ab). Data was analysed using the t-test, chi-square test and Fisher's exact test to examine the factors related to HAV Ab positivity. Out of the 351 blood donors, 49.0 percent (n is 172) were regular blood donors, 94.0 percent (n is 330) were male and 71.0 percent (n is 248) were married. HAV Ab was found in 94.9 percent (n is 333) of the total sample. The prevalence of HAV Ab was higher among married and older participants. It was lower among those with a high school or vocational level of education (p is less than 0.05) than among those with a lower level of education. This study reveals a high prevalence of HAV Ab among adult blood donors in Qazvin, which indicates a high level of childhood contact with HAV in the area.
    Singapore medical journal 02/2011; 52(2):107-12. · 0.73 Impact Factor
  • Source
    Article: [The seroprevalence rate, vaccination rate and seroconversion rate of hepatitis A in central region of Korea].
    Seung Wook Yun, Won Kyung Lee, Sun Young Cho, Sung Hoon Moon, Hyun Deok Shin, Se Young Yun, Suk Bae Kim, Jeong Eun Shin, Hong Ja Kim, Il Han Song, Kun Song Lee, Jae Hyun Lee
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Acute hepatitis A (HAV) is markedly increasing recently on. Some patients with acute hepatitis A show severe clinical course. The seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV has been changing with the regions and the times. Vaccination and seroconversion rate of HAV are not well known. In this study, we aimed to study the difference of seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV according to various clinical factors and to know the vaccination rate and seroconversion rate below 10 years old in the central region of South Korea including Cheonan city. Seven hundred seventy two subjects were included in the study from January to September 2009. We analyzed seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV according to sex, age, region, and other viral markers. We interviewed the history of vaccination(1st, 2nd) and analyzed seroconversion rate according to vaccination time below 10 years old. The total seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV was 65.3%. The seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV rate in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th decade was very low (1.9%, 18.8%, 44.8%). The vaccination rate of children was about 50%. The seroconversion rate after 1st, and 2nd vaccination were 85%, 96%. Catch-up vaccination for teenagers and young adults is needed. Immunizing children with HAV vaccine as a routine schedule should be considered.
    The Korean journal of gastroenterology = Taehan Sohwagi Hakhoe chi 03/2011; 57(3):166-72.

Show more

Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Full-text (2 Sources)

View
2 Downloads
Available from
19 Apr 2013

Keywords

Abbott Laboratories
 
acute liver failure
 
Anti-HAV IgG antibody
 
anti-HAV immune status
 
disease burden
 
disease incidence
 
dramatic drop
 
enzyme immunoassay
 
follow-up samples
 
HAVAB EIA kit
 
hepatitis A. Immunizing children
 
low endemicity country
 
massive outbreaks
 
Natural acquisition
 
natural seroconversion rate
 
outbreaks
 
primary school children
 
reported outbreak
 
routine schedule
 
seroprevalence rates