title: Changes in seroprevalence of hepatitis A in children and adolescents in Manisa, Turkey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis A virus (HAV), being an enteric transmitting virus wide world, occurs mostly in children of developing countries. However, the virus has recently been seen in adolescents and young adults worldwide. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of the HAV infection in children and adolescents in Manisa, Turkey, and to verify whether the increased incidence of HAV infection in other parts of the world and Turkey generally is also true for the area of Manisa.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors studied blood samples of 1395 adolescents and children aged between 6 months and 17 years from the Manisa area in order to evaluate the existence of anti-HAV antibodies using micro-ELISA test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total seropositivity was 44.6% while age related values were as followed: 6-23 months, 47.8%; 2-6 years, 23.7%; 7-10 years, 43.4%; 11-14 years, 52.4%; and 15-17 years, 76.6%. These results suggest that the seropositivity increases significantly among children at school age and also increases parallel to age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to these results, the authors concluded that there has been a shift of seropositivity from children to adolescents especially in families with an average or high socio-economical level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Morris Schinassi Pediatric Hospital, Manisa, Turkey. selmatosun2000@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Selma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tosun
authors.forename: Pelin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ertan
authors.forename: Erhun
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kasirga
authors.forename: Umit
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Atman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017957:Hepatitis A Virus, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012698:Serologic Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology