title: Incidence of hepatitis A virus infection among an Italian military population.
abstract: In 1990, a prospective serological survey to estimate the rate of clinical and inapparent infection with hepatitis A virus (HAV) was performed in a cohort of 1,268 soldiers, 18-24 years old, during an 8 month period in the Campania region in Italy. At the time of enrollment 318 (25%) of the 1,268 soldiers were positive for total antibodies to HAV (anti-HAV). None of them was positive for IgM anti-HAV. Among the 950 susceptible subjects who were followed up for 8 months, eight (0.8%) later seroconverted to anti-HAV positivity. This figure corresponds to an incidence of 1.3/100 person/years (eight seroconversions during 633.3 years of observation). There were two clinical (with presence of IgM-anti-HAV) and six inapparent infections. The clinical/subclinical HAV ratio was 1:3. These findings indicate that the risk of HAV infection among soldiers residing in this area is not negligible.
authors.affiliation: Laboratories of Virology and Epidemiology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Matricardi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: D'Amelio
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Biselli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rapicetta
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Napoli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chionne
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stroffolini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology*; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008889:Military Personnel; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies