title: Hepatitis A in young Norwegian drug addicts and prison inmates.
abstract: Prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis A (anti-HAV) among young Norwegian drug addicts in 1983 and the relative incidence of specific IgM against hepatitis A (anti-HAV IgM) during the years 1973-1983 have been studied. The survey is based on 1,689 serum samples from 561 persons submitted to hepatitis B screening or clinical hepatitis testing. The prevalence of anti-HAV in such groups was 43% in 1983 versus about 5% in corresponding age groups in the general population and 1% in the Norwegian U.N. soldiers in Lebanon. Presence of anti-HAV clearly correlated with presence of hepatitis B markers. Considerable fluctuations in the incidence of hepatitis A seemed to occur among drug addicts, with pronounced epidemic peaks in 1975 and 1979, coinciding with epidemics in Malmö, Sweden. Though the incidence varied, hepatitis A may have persisted among addicts for some years after 1979 in a semi-endemic manner. Although relatively young, most of them seem to have been in the milieu for some time before catching the infection. Drug addicts seem to be a target group for future hepatitis A vaccination programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute of Public Health, Oslo.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holter
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Siebke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006507:Hepatovirus / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D011329:Prisoners; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies