Changing patterns of hepatitis A virus infection in children in Palermo, Italy

Abstract

In 1988 in Palermo, Italy, the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) in a sample of 490 children 6-13 years old was 10.6%; it increased from 6.3% among children 6-10 years old to 14.7% in children 11-13 years old (P less than 0.01). Compared with findings from a survey conducted in 1978 in the same area, the results of the present study show a significant (P less than 0.01) reduction in the anti-HAV prevalence in both age groups. Anti-HAV prevalence was inversely related to the father's years of education and positively related to the family size. Children of fathers with less than 6 years of schooling had a 3.2-fold risk (C.I. 95% = 1.3-8.1), and children with five or more members in their households had a 2.7-fold risk (C.I. 95% = 1.1-6.4) of previous exposure to hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection. Our findings indicate that exposure of children in Palermo to HAV is decreasing significantly, probably because of improvements in socio-economic conditions during recent years; however socio-demographic factors appear to be important determinants of infection.

Hepatitis B mass immunization of adolescents: A pilot study in a community

“…However, in the present study, the prevalence of HBV markers in our study population, resident in an area regarded as endemic, was found to be low. This observation is consistent with the evidence of a marked decrease in hepatitis B infection rates in the Italian population, particularly among children, in recent years (1, 2, 7, [10][11][12]. Considering that prevalence of HBV markers among adolescents in most areas of Italy is lower than that observed in our study population, systematic pre-immunization screening does not seem to be justified.…”

“…Whereas this mode of transmission still exists, the National Type Specific Hepatitis Surveillance System ("SEIEVA") has shown that the age group of maximum incidence of hepatitis B is now 15-24 years, which has a rate approximately ten times higher than that of the age group 0-14 years (6). Several seroepidemiologic studies conducted in different geographical areas of the country confirm this finding (2, [10][11][12]. Studies on the heterosexual transmission of hepatitis B (9) suggest the increasing relative importance of this mode of transmission.…”

Prevalence of hepatitis A virus infection among sewage workers in Singapore

“…Only one published study by Poole and Shakespeare [8] reported a higher seroprevalence among sewage workers. However it was based on a population of only 40 individuals and the effect of confounders such as age [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] and socio-economic status [19,24,27,28] was not considered when compared with the control population. Others have doubted the significance of data presented [16].…”

Declining hepatitis A seroprevalence: a global review and analysis

“…Other studies in Spain over the past few decades provide further evidence for a general reduction in [94] 100 % of all ages Iran [96] >90 % by age 10 Jordan [111] 100 % by age 5 Lebanon [108] 85 % of ages 6-12; 98 % of adults Morocco [105] >95 % of young adults Pakistan [89] 94 % by age 5 Qatar [112] 100 % by age 30 Saudi Arabia [91,97] >50 % by age 10 Syria [92] 95 % by age 11 Turkey [102,110] >50 % of teenagers United Arab Emirates [112] 60 % of ages 17-20 Yemen [107] >99 % of all ages [189,190] (Fig. 3), Padua [126,183], Naples [132], and Palermo, Sicily [147,178].…”