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Seroepidemiology of hepatitis A virus infection among schoolchildren in Taiwan
Author(s) -
Tsai ChinFeng,
Lin DingBang,
Chen ShiuanChih,
Chang YihHsin,
Chen ChienYi,
Lin JyeBin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.22000
Subject(s) - seroprevalence , hepatitis a , medicine , hepatitis a virus , environmental health , population , vaccination , epidemiology , serology , demography , virology , antibody , virus , immunology , hepatitis , sociology
Taiwan was a hyperendemic area for hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection before 1980. The aim of this study was to examine the association between seropositivity of antibodies against HAV (anti‐HAV) by a community‐based survey. School children from 10 elementary and 3 junior high schools, as well as staff members who worked at the above schools in central Taiwan were selected at random in this study. Anti‐HAV was tested in sera of 1,954 healthy schoolchildren (aged 7–15 years old) and 254 teachers by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Schoolchildren had a low prevalence of anti‐HAV (2.3%) in contrast to the high seroprevalence in their teachers (52%). The seropositive rates of HAV antibody among the study subjects were increasing with age. No significant differences of anti‐HAV seroprevalence among the study subjects were observed when they were stratified by gender, geographical area, household members, and parental education. Whereas, the anti‐HAV seroprevalence was significantly higher in schoolchildren who were either aboriginal or living in areas without a supply of drinking tap‐water. The seroprevalence of HAV data among the healthy pediatric population would be helpful to evaluate the need for mass vaccination policies. J. Med. Virol. 83:196–200, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.