Seroprevalence of hepatitis A markers in subjects exposed to biological risk.
OBJECTIVE
The seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus antibodies was investigated in a population of 1051 subjects, of whom 376 were controls and 675 were exposed to different degrees of biological risk.


METHODS
The exposed group was subdivided into subjects at low (242), intermediate (265), and high (168) biological hazard; all subjects were employed in the biomedical field. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were also determined.


RESULTS
The seroprevalence of positive hepatitis A antibodies was 44.9% in all subjects but was significantly higher in males (50.6%) than in females (34.2%) and increased according to age (25.9% in subjects aged < or =40 years and 62.2% in subjects aged >40 years). No difference related to exposure to the biological risk was observed. The prevalence of transaminases at levels above normal values (chi2 = 4.079, P<0.05 for AST and chi2 = 4.806, P<0.05 for ALT) and mean values (AST P<0.05; ALT P<0.001) appeared significant in hepatitis A virus-positive subjects. On the other hand, excluding individuals with positive hepatitis C virus antibodies (16) and positive hepatitis B virus surface antigen (12), a prevalence of transaminase alterations was not observed, but mean levels of ALT lasted significantly longer in subjects with positive hepatitis A virus antibodies (P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The results confirm that hepatitis A virus is not a risk for employees in the biomedical field, but the presence of hepatitis A virus antibodies suggests a possible, though not clinically evident, liver involvement.
Trevisan
A
A
Istituto di Medicina del Lavoro, Università di Padova, Italy. atrevi@ux1.unipd.it
Stocco
E
E
Fanelli
G
G
Bicciato
F
F
Paruzzolo
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D018570:Risk Assessment
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D015415:Biomarkers; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal