Hepatitis A: the burden among Latino children in California.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of Hepatitis A within subpopulations of southern California counties.


METHODS
Age and race/ethnic-specific hepatitis A rates were derived from the California Department of Health Services Surveillance and Statistics Section for 1996-2001 and from demographic data of the California Department of Finance.


RESULTS
2.3 million Latino children (aged 0-14 years) in five southern California counties had a rate of 31.1 cases per 100,000, five times higher than the non-Hispanic white rate.


CONCLUSIONS
The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends routine vaccination for children with "very high" rates of hepatitis A. The annual prevalence of hepatitis A in California, especially in southern California, met the CDC's "very high" definition, therefore Latino children in these counties should be considered for routine childhood hepatitis A vaccination. As health has no borders, this issue should be addressed by the public health services of both, the United States' and Mexico's public health services.
Hayes-Bautista
David E
DE
Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, Department of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90024, USA. dhayesb@ucla.edu
Hsu
Paul
P
Pérez
Aidé
A
Sosa
Lucette
L
Gamboa
Cristina
C
D000293:Adolescent; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015995:Prevalence