Korean J Pediatr Infect Dis.  2005 Nov;12(2):186-194. 10.14776/kjpid.2005.12.2.186.

Age Related Prevalence of Antibodies to Hepatitis A Virus, Performed in Korea in 2005

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatric, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. kjhan@olmh.cuk.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Pediatrics, Masan Fatima Hospital, Masan, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
Hepatitis A viral infections have been continued after re-emerging since mid 1990s in Korea. The incidence of this disease has been increased in young adults younger than 30 years of age since 2000. This study was performed to evaluate the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis A in Korea(two regions; Incheon and Changwon) in 2005, and was compared with the results of similar studies in mid 1990s.
METHODS
The study was conducted from January 2005 to June 2005, and consisted of 1,301 enrolled subjects, neonates to 50 years old, living in Incheon and Changwon in Korea. All sera were frozen and stored at −70℃ until assayed. Anti-HAV IgG antibodies were measured by microparticle enzyme immunoassay(HAVAB, Abbott Lab., IL, USA).
RESULTS
The prevalence of anti-HAV IgG was 61.1% in infants younger than 1 year old, 30.5% in 1~5 years, 14.6% in 6~10 years, 1.7% in 11~15 years, 6.5% in 16~20 years, 36.6%in 21~30 years, 77.5% in 31~40 years, and 99.8% in 41~50 years. Statistical differences were not found between male and female, but there was statistical difference in 6~10 years old age group between the two areas.
CONCLUSION
Our study indicate that the prevalence of antihepatitis A virus antibody has shifted from children to old adolescents and young adults. This result suggests that the risk of sudden outbreaks or increasing incidence of hepatitis A viral infections in young adults may be expected in our society. The preventive strategies of hepatitis A including vaccination should be prepared.

Keyword

Hepatitis A virus; Age related prevalence; Anti-HAV IgG

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Antibodies*
Child
Disease Outbreaks
Female
Gyeongsangnam-do
Hepatitis A Antibodies
Hepatitis A virus*
Hepatitis A*
Hepatitis*
Humans
Immunoglobulin G
Incheon
Incidence
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Korea*
Male
Prevalence*
Vaccination
Young Adult
Antibodies
Hepatitis A Antibodies
Immunoglobulin G

Cited by  2 articles

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Korean J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2011;14(1):67-73.    doi: 10.5223/kjpgn.2011.14.1.67.

An Epidemiological Analysis of Hepatitis A Virus Serologic Markers during the Recent Four Years in Korea
Anna Lee, Hyun-Sun Lim, Chung-Mo Nam, Sean-Mi Song, Hye-Ryoung Yoon, Kyoung-Ryul Lee
Korean J Lab Med. 2009;29(6):563-569.    doi: 10.3343/kjlm.2009.29.6.563.

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