Epidemiology of hepatitis A in northern Italy: a seven-year survey.
During a seven-year survey of acute symptomatic viral hepatitis in Padua (Northern Italy), the epidemiological features of hepatitis A were evaluated in 207 consecutive patients (120 males, mean age 22.7 +/- 11.4 years). The annual attack rate of the disease decreased significantly (p less than 0.05) between 1978 and 1979 (0.11/1000 inhabitants) and 1981 and 1984 (0.04-0.03/1000 inhabitants), mainly due to its declining prevalence in the pediatric age. In parallel with the shifting of hepatitis A towards adulthood, single sources of infection, mainly associated with adult life-style such as foreign travel and raw shellfish ingestion, have become more and more prominent. The spread of drug abuse has not influenced the epidemiology of hepatitis A in our area.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors