PECULIARITIES OF HEPATITIS A EPIDEMIC PROCESS, THAT DETERMINE MODERN PROPHYLAXIS AND INFECTION CONTROL STRATEGIES

Abstract

The incidence of Hepatitis A still remains one the highest among other types of viral hepatitis in many countries in the world including Russia. An important epidemiological trait of the disease is its high prevalence among children. This article contains results of the comparative analysis of prevalence of hepatitis A in two indicator groups — children 3–6 years old and adults 20–29 years old from 78 regions of the Russian Federation. Antiviral collective immunity was assessed by the levels of IgG to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) in 2009 among children 0–17 y. o. and adults 20–39 y. o. from St. Petersburg (in total among 872 patients). Judging upon incidence of hepatitis A infection and rate of anti-HAV detection it was stated that St. Petersburg is a region with interim endemicity that requires planned immunization according to the WHO recommendations.Key words: children, hepatitis A, incidence, epidemiology.(Voprosy sovremennoi pediatrii — Current Pediatrics. 2011; 10 (3): 131–136)