title: Seroprevalence of hepatitis a and associated factors among 1-15 year old children in Eastern Turkey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis A is a common infectious disease during childhood worldwide. Recently, great deal of changes in the epidemiology has been reported. The seroepidemiologic studies of this infection are not sufficient in Eastern region of Turkey.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the seroprevalence and association with socio-demographic variables of hepatitis A in 1-15 year old children in Van.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was performed on 510 one to fifteen year old children from outpatient pediatric clinics in Yüzüncü Yıl University, Faculty of Medicine during last three months of 2009. Anti-HAV IgG was measured in sera by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The information about subjects was recorded on standardized forms and a chart review survey was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall ratio for seropositivity was 54.9%. Statistical significance was found between hepatitis A seroprevalence and age, collective use of domestic items, fresh water resources, localization and type of toilet and the number of households.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provided the most recent data of seropositivity and revealed the preliminary indication of epidemiological shift in seroprevalence of Hepatitis A virus in a region with high endemicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Yüzüncü Yıl University Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serap
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karaman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Yüzüncü Yıl University Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kamuran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karaman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Private Istanbul Hospital Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Baran Serdar
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kızılyıldız
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Yüzüncü Yıl University Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nesrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ceylan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Yüzüncü Yıl University Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sultan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaba
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Yüzüncü Yıl University Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parlak
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatris Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Yüzüncü Yıl University Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Burhan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beger
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Yüzüncü Yıl University Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ceylan
keywords: Hepatitis a antibodies; children; prevalence; seroepidemiologic studies