Hepatitis A antibody in blood donors in North East Thames region: implications to prevention policies

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Abstract
SUMMARY: A total of 1786 blood donors were screened for the presence of anti-hepatitis A antibod (anti HAV). 64·5% of the donors were found to be positive. The prevalence of the antibody was found to be age-related, 55% at 18 years and 75% at 65 years. No relationship was noted between the presence of antibody, foreign travel or a specific destination. Assay of antibody levels in selected seropositive individuals gave a mean level of 5· IU/ml.The prevalence of infection in this selected population is important in thecontext of passive immunization with normal human immunoglobulin and for defining a policy of immunization with hepatitis A vaccines, which are currently undergoing clinical trials.