title: Hepatitis A seroprevalence in Tuscany, Italy.
abstract: Information regarding the current seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) is useful for the control of HAV infections. The objective of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies among children (1-5 years old) and young adults (15-20 years old) in Tuscany, in central Italy. A total of 565 sera were collected in three years 1992, 1998 and 2004, equally distributed between the two age groups. The overal proportion of those that tested positive for anti-HAV antibodies was 8.3%. The proportion of immune children (1-5 years old) statistically significantly increased over the years. The percentage of immune subjects among 15-20-year-old young adults varied over the years, not showing a significant statistical trend, nevertheless our findings indicate that in a low endemicity area, adolescents and young adults are becoming increasingly susceptible to HAV infection. On-going monitoring of immunity to HAV is necessary for detecting trends over time.
authors.affiliation: University of Siena, Department of Physiopathology, Experimental Medicine and Public Health, Tuscany, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gentile
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Alberini
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Manini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montomoli
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pozzi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Alfonsi