Changing patterns of hepatitis A prevalence within the Saudi population over the last 18 years

作     者：Faleh Al Faleh Suliman Al Shehri Saleh Al Ansari Mohammed Al Jeffri Yaqoub Al Mazrou Ahmad Shaffi Ayman A Abdo 

作者机构：Department of Medicine College of Medicine King Saud University Ministry of Education Ministry of Health Department of Community Medicine College of Medicine King Saud University 

出 版 物：《World Journal of Gastroenterology》 (世界胃肠病学杂志（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2008年第14卷第48期

页      面：7371-7375页

核心收录：

学科分类：1004[医学-公共卫生与预防医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 1002[医学-临床医学] 100401[医学-流行病与卫生统计学] 10[医学] 

基　　金：Supported by Grant Number 113-27-AT ON6/6/2007 from King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 

主　　题：Hepatitis A Saudi Arabia Epidemiology Prevalence Serology 

摘      要：AIM： To determine the seroprevalence of Hepatitis A （HAV） amongst Saudi children and compare it with previously reported prevalence data from the same population. METHODS： A total of 1357 students were randomly selected between the ages of 16 and 18 years （689 males and 668 females） from three different regions of Saudi Arabia （Madinah, AI-Qaseem, and Aseer） and tested for ***： The overall prevalence of anti-HAV-IgG among the study population was 18.6%. There was no difference between males and females but there was a significant difference in the seroprevalence （P = 0.0001） between the three different regions, with Madinah region showing the highest prevalence （27.4%）. When classified according to socioeconomic status, lower class students had a prevalence of 36.6%, lower middle class 16.6%, upper middle class 9.6%, and upper class 5.9% （P = 0.0001）. Comparing the current study results with those of previous studies in 1989 and 1997 involving the same population, there was a marked reduction in the overall prevalence of HAV from 52% in 1989, to 25% in 1997, to 18.6% in 2008 （P 〈 0.0001）.CONCLUSION： Over the last 18 years, there has been a marked decline in the prevalence of HAV in Saudi children and adolescents. The current low prevalence rates call for strict adherence to vaccination policies in high-risk patients and raises the question of a universal HAV vaccination program.