Seroepidemiology of Hepatitis A in the Croatian Population

How to Cite:Vilibic-Cavlek T, Kucinar J, Ljubin-Sternak S, Kolaric B. Seroepidemiology of Hepatitis A in the Croatian Population. Hepat Mon. 2011;11(12):. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/kowsar.1735143X.756

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has a worldwide distribution, although this distribution tends to be uneven among geographical regions and population groups. The prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies in the general population varies widely among countries. In Europe, the seroprevalence of HAV is reported to range from 32% to 88%.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HAV among the general Croatian population.
Materials and Methods: During a 2-year period (2008-2009), a total of 791 serum samples were tested for the presence of anti-HAV total (IgM+IgG) and anti-HAV IgM antibodies using an automated enzyme-linked fluorescent assay (Mini Vidas; bioMérieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France).
Results: The overall anti-HAV seroprevalence was 41.6%. The observed difference in the seroprevalence rates among male and female patients was not statistically significant (44% vs. 39.6%, P = 0.218). A marked increase in anti-HAV seropositivity with age was observed (P < 0.001). The seroprevalence did not differ significantly between participants residing in rural regions (45.3%) and those residing in urban regions (40.6%, P = 0.292).
Conclusions: Our results corroborate those of seroprevalence studies in other developed countries. More than half of the Croatian population (59.4%) is susceptible to HAV infection. Older age is an important predictor for being anti-HAV positive.

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:
HAV represents a significant cause of morbidity throughout the world. The distribution varies widely among geographical regions and population groups. Information regarding the status of HAV immunity is crucial for the control of this infection as well as for immunization.

Please cite this paper as:
Vilibic-Cavlek T, Kucinar J, Ljubin-Sternak S, Kolaric B. Seroepidemiology of Hepatitis A in the Croatian population. Hepat Mon. 2011;11(12):997-9. DoI: 10.5812/kowsar.1735143X.756

Keywords

Hepatitis A Virus

Epidemiology

Seroepidemiologic Studies

Croatia

Full Text

Full text is available in PDF

Import into EndNote Import into BibTex

Crossmark

Checking

Share on

Comments

Number of Comments:0

Cited by

Scopus by DOI: 1
Last Update: 1 month ago
Scopus by Title: 1
Last Update: 1 month ago
Scopus by Title (Ref): 18
Last Update: 1 month ago
CrossRef: 5
Last Update: 6 days ago

Metrics

Licensing and reuse information

Ordering Reprints

Articles are published under the Creative Commons license stated on each article. No permission or royalty fee is required for uses permitted by that license. CCC handles optional bulk and customized reprint orders. Any quotation covers production and delivery services only, not copyright permission. > Request Reprints from CCC

Search Relations

Author(s):

Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek:[PubMed][Scholar]
Jasmina Kucinar:[PubMed][Scholar]
Suncanica Ljubin-Sternak:[PubMed][Scholar]
Branko Kolaric:[PubMed][Scholar]

Official Journal of Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases

Outlines

Seroepidemiology of Hepatitis A in the Croatian Population

Abstract

Full Text

Crossmark

Checking

Last Update: 1 month ago

Last Update: 1 month ago

Last Update: 1 month ago

Last Update: 6 days ago