[An epidemiological analysis of hepatitis A virus serologic markers during the recent four years in Korea].
BACKGROUND
To establish effective preventive measures for hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection, a nationwide epidemiologic study on seroprevalence of anti-HAV and the disease prevalence is needed. The aim of this study was to analyze the recent sero-epidemiological changes of hepatitis A markers in Korea.


METHODS
The results of 11,068 anti-HAV total and 32,360 anti-HAV IgM tests by electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) that had been requested in recent four years (2005-2008) to a reference medical laboratory from 1,699 institutions nationwide were retrospectively analyzed according to the distribution of year, sex, and age groups.


RESULTS
The overall positive rate of anti-HAV total was 62.8%. The overall positive rate of anti-HAV IgM was 11.0%, showing a significantly increasing trend by year: 7.7%, 10.9%, 8.9%, and 14.3% in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, respectively (P<0.0001). The positive rate of anti-HAV IgM was higher in male than in female subjects (11.8% vs 10.0%, P<0.0001), and 81.8% (2,916/3,566) of the anti-HAV IgM positive results were observed in the age groups of 21-40 yr. The annual positive rates of anti-HAV total and anti-HAV IgM showed significantly decreasing and increasing trends, respectively, in the age groups of > or = 21 yr.


CONCLUSIONS
In accordance with a decreasing sero-positivity of anti-HAV total, the prevalence of acute hepatitis A virus infection has been considerably increased during the recent four years in the age groups of > or = 21 yr. The results of this study could be used effectively as a basic data for establishing effective preventive measures for hepatitis A including vaccination in these susceptible age groups.
Lee
Anna
A
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul Medical Science Institute, Seoul, Korea.
Lim
Hyun-Sun
HS
Nam
Chung-Mo
CM
Song
Sean-Mi
SM
Yoon
Hye-Ryoung
HR
Lee
Kyoung-Ryul
KR
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology*; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
D015415:Biomarkers; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D007075:Immunoglobulin M