Risk of exposure to hepatitis A virus among day-care workers in Israel: implications for preventive measures.
Hepatitis A is an important infectious disease in Israel. The high incidence of hepatitis A, the declining prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis A virus throughout the past decade, and the availability of an active immunization for hepatitis A have engendered the identification of occupations in which workers are at increased risk of acquiring the disease. A prevalence study for hepatitis A antibodies was conducted during the first half of 1998 in a random sample of 37 day-care centers in different parts of Israel. A short interview was conducted, and serum samples were then collected from each worker. The control group comprised a sample of factory workers, blood donors, and women in maternity wards. Ninety percent (402 of 446) of the day-care workers had antibodies to hepatitis A. In a logistic-regression analysis, seropositivity was associated with increased age, minimal education, and lack of military service. When the authors compared a subsample of workers aged 18-40 yr with the control group, seropositivity was associated with the following: birth in Israel, duration of residence in Israel, very minimal education, military service, and employment in a day-care center. These results, together with earlier reports, indicate that day-care workers are at high risk of occupational exposure to hepatitis A. These results may imply that seronegative workers have a 2-fold chance of acquiring hepatitis A. Appropriate preventive measures should be considered, and active immunization of susceptible workers should be undertaken.
Peled
Tamar
T
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ashkenazi
Shai
S
Chodick
Gabriel
G
Aloni
Hava
H
Yuhas
Yael
Y
Lerman
Yehuda
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment
D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies