title: Seroepidemiology of hepatitis a in the croatian population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has a worldwide distribution, although this distribution tends to be uneven among geographical regions and population groups. The prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies in the general population varies widely among countries. In Europe, the seroprevalence of HAV is reported to range from 32% to 88%.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HAV among the general Croatian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  During a 2-year period (2008-2009), a total of 791 serum samples were tested for the presence of anti-HAV total (IgM+IgG) and anti-HAV IgM antibodies using an automated enzyme-linked fluorescent assay (Mini Vidas; bioMérieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall anti-HAV seroprevalence was 41.6%. The observed difference in the seroprevalence rates among male and female patients was not statistically significant (44% vs. 39.6%, P = 0.218). A marked increase in anti-HAV seropositivity with age was observed (P < 0.001). The seroprevalence did not differ significantly between participants residing in rural regions (45.3%) and those residing in urban regions (40.6%, P = 0.292).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results corroborate those of seroprevalence studies in other developed countries. More than half of the Croatian population (59.4%) is susceptible to HAV infection. Older age is an important predictor for being anti-HAV positive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Croatian national Institute of public Health, Zagreb and School of Medicine University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Tatjana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vilibic-Cavlek
authors.forename: Jasmina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kucinar
authors.forename: Suncanica
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ljubin-Sternak
authors.forename: Branko
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kolaric