Prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis A virus among new immigrants in Israel

✍ Scribed by Yuory V. Karetnyi; Dr. Ella Mendelson; Eli Shlyakhov; Eithan Rubinstein; Nina Golubev; Ruth Levin; Michael Sandler; Mordechai Schreiber; Uri Rubinstein; Ilan Shif; Rachel Handsher; Noemi Varsano; Baruch Modan

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 458 KB
• Volume: 46
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.1890460114

✦ Synopsis

Israel, located in a region endemic for hepatitis A virus (HAW, recently absorbed a large population of immigrants who came from the former USSR. To assess the risk of high morbidity in this population a serosurvey of HAV antibodies was undertaken. Serum samples were collected from 965 new immigrants, of whom 664 came from the European, non-endemic region, and 301 from the Asian and Caucasian endemic regions of the former Soviet Union. They were compared to 240 Israelis. Each population was divided into six age groups: 1-9,10-'l9,20-29,30-39,40-49, and 50 years of age and older. The Asian/ Caucasian immigrants and the Israeli population were found to share similar characteristics. In both groups, antibodies to HAV (anti-HAV) were present in the 1-9-year-old age group and reached maximum prevalence (90% and 86.7%, respectively) in the 20-29-year-old age group. In contrast, among the European immigrants anti-HAV was first found in the 10-19-year-olds and peaked (93%) $-I the age group of 50 years and older. It is concluded that immigrants originating from the European part of the former USSR may require vaccination against hepatitis A.