Hepatitis A virus in urban sewage from two Mediterranean countries.
Molecular methods for the detection and typing of hepatitis A virus (HAV) strains in sewage were applied to determine its distribution in Cairo and Barcelona. The study revealed the occurrence of different patterns of hepatitis A endemicity in each city. The circulating strains characterized, whether in Cairo or Barcelona, were genotype IB. The effects of a child vaccination programme and the increase in the immigrant population on the overall hepatitis A occurrence in Barcelona were evaluated. While vaccination contributed to a significant decrease in the number of clinical cases, the huge recent immigration flow has probably been responsible for the re-emergence of the disease in the last year of study, in the form of small outbreaks among the non-vaccinated population.
Pintó
R M
RM
Enteric Virus Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Alegre
D
D
Domínguez
A
A
El-Senousy
W M
WM
Sánchez
G
G
Villena
C
C
Costafreda
M I
MI
Aragonès
L
L
Bosch
A
A
D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005838:Genotype; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D012722:Sewage / Q000821:virology*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health
D012722:Sewage