[The prevalence of hepatitis A in the Guadalajara province. Is Spain a country with low endemia?].
BACKGROUND
Spain, together with the other southern European countries, was considered to be an area with a moderate degree of endemia. This fact has consequences for tourists that visit these areas and for vaccination strategies. A prevalence study was proposed in order to get to know the situation of this infection in the Guadalajara province.


METHODS
284 specimens of serum were taken from patients who were classified according to their age, sex and place of residence (with more or less than 10.000 inhabitants). In these specimens the presence of hepatitis A antibodies were studied, using a Microparticule Enzyme Immunoassay (MEIA) (Abbott).


RESULTS
An increase in the prevalence was observed in older people, there is a low prevalence population (</= 5%) in people aged between 0-29 years and a high prevalence population (>80%) in adults aged between 30 and 74 years. No differences were observed related to sex. In the stratified analysis according to age, differences were observed between the groups from rural and urban origins.


CONCLUSIONS
The low prevalence of hepatitis A was found among the younger population, as seen in other studies carried out on a national level, and this together with a decrease in the frequency, means that Spain is included among the countries with low endemia. This fact has consequences for tourists who visit our country and for vaccination strategies, due to the increase in the number of adults who are susceptible to the infection.
González-Praetorius
A
A
Sección de Microbiología, Hospital General de Guadalajara, Madrid, Spain.
Rodríguez-Avial
C
C
Fernández
C
C
Teresa Pérez-Pomata Mf
M
M
Gimeno
C
C
Bisquert
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology*; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies