Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Hepatitis A is one of the most common viral infections in the world. In children, the manifestations of infection are usually milder but in adults they are more severe. The risk of acute hepatic failure increases when the infection occurred in the older ages. The aim of the study was to evaluate of serum hepatitis A antibodies in children.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on two hundred children (two groups of hundred individuals each) aged 6 months to 10 years old hospitalized in the emergency department of Taleghani Hospital (Gorgan city) from May to July 2016. The first group aged 6 months to 3 years and the second group 3 to 10 years old. After obtaining the parental consent, 3 ml of blood sample were taken to determine immunoglobulin M (IgM) against HAV using commercial ELISA kits (Dia.Pro Diagnostic, Milano, Italy) and the children’s’ demographic data were recorded.
Results: The study was conducted on two hundred children. Of these patients 127 (63.5 percent) were boys and 73 (36.5 percent) girls. Overall, 11 percent [twenty-two patients including eight (8 percent) in the first group and Thirteen (13 percent) in the second group] were serologically positive for hepatitis A. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age and sex. (P= 0.239) and (P= 0.535). Only 11 percent of children under 10 years old were infected by hepatitis A and 89 percent of children had no history of contact or infection.
Conclusion: Based on this study, the incidence of hepatitis A infection was about 11% in children under 10 years old, which indicates a reduction in exposure with this virus. It may seem reasonable based on health policy but the adverse effect of this trend is later probability of contacts with Hepatitis A patients and occurrence of HAV in older ages. Therefore, we can conclude that HAV infection has been shifted to older ages.