title: Prevalence and titre of antibodies against Hepatitis A virus in HIV-infected men having sex with men in Greece.
abstract: Hepatitis A remains a serious vaccine-preventable disease for HIV patients. We tested 897 HIV-infected men having sex with men (MSM) for antibodies against hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) and measured the geometric mean antibody titres (GMTs) in a group of patients who received a hepatitis A vaccine and in patients with immunity to HAV due to infection in childhood. In all, 320 patients (35%) had positive anti-HAV antibodies. Multivariate analysis showed that only age (p 0.001) and ethnic origin (OR 20.029, p 0.001) had a statistically significant effect on the presence of antibodies. In addition, age was a fairly sensitive (68.4%) and specific (64.2%) marker, patients being separated by the 36.5 years cut-off point. The response rate of patients who get vaccinated (n 383), one month following the administration of the second dose of the vaccine, was 76%. The GMT of the vaccinated patients was 305 mIU/ml versus 7105 mIU/ml of patients with past infection. The vast majority of HIV-infected MSM patients in Greece is susceptible to HAV. Immunity to HAV in newly vaccinated patients, unlike patients with natural immunity, is low and probably requires monitoring.
authors.affiliation: HIV/AIDS Unit, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Syggros Hospital; Department of Dermatology and Venereology, West Attica General Hospital, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kourkounti
authors.affiliation: HIV/AIDS Unit, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Syggros Hospital; Department of Dermatology and Venereology, West Attica General Hospital, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Paparizos
authors.affiliation: HIV/AIDS Unit, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Syggros Hospital; Department of Dermatology and Venereology, West Attica General Hospital, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leuow
authors.affiliation: HIV/AIDS Unit, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Syggros Hospital; Department of Dermatology and Venereology, West Attica General Hospital, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Kyriakos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kyriakis
authors.affiliation: HIV/AIDS Unit, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Syggros Hospital; Department of Dermatology and Venereology, West Attica General Hospital, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antoniou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006115:Greece; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood*; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies