Hepatitis A antibody prevalence among young adults in Israel – the decline continues
Open Access
- 1 August 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Epidemiology and Infection
- Vol. 121 (2) , 477-479
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0950268898001198
Abstract
This study sought to determine whether the decline in prevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibodies detected in Israel in 1977, 1984, and 1987 has continued. The anti-HAV antibody prevalence of a systematic sample of 578 male and female recruits inducted into the Israel Defence Force in 1996 was 38·4%. The reduction in antibody prevalence from 1977 (64%) was highly significant (P<0·001). There was a smaller decrease rate in recruits of European, North American, Australian and South African origin than from elsewhere. A ‘strategy’ that uses active immunization against hepatitis A (inactivated vaccine, instead of gamma globulin) should be considered, particularly in high risk groups such as field units during military service.Keywords
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: