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Abstract
Background/Aims
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease transmitted by fecal-oral route. As the incidence of hepatitis A has been increased in Gwangju and Chonnam province of Korea recently, the number of hepatitis A patients in hospital employees has also increased. Thus, we investigated the seroprevalence of IgG anti-HAV in hospital employees below 40 years old.
Methods
We analysed the seroprevalence of anti-HAV IgG from 1,002 Chonnam national university hospital empolyees (men: 190, women: 812) who were below 40 years old. The age group was divided by 5 years; 21-25 years old 199 (19.9%), 26-30 years old 426 (42.5%), 31-35 years old 215 (21.5%), 36-40 years old 162 (16.1%).
Results
Overall seropositive rate of IgG anti-HAV was 32.8% (329/1,002). The seropositive rate of men was 40.5% (77/190) and that of women was 31.0% (252/812). The seropositive rates of each age group were 1.5% (3/199) in 21-25 years old, 21.6% (92/426) in 26-30 years old, 48.4% (104/215) in 31-35 years old, and 80.2% (130/162) in 36-40 years old. The seropositivity rate of the high risk group (doctors, nurses, technicians) was 28.9% (234/809).
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Fig. 3.
Seroprevalence rate according to the occupations.∗ Others: pharmacists, officers in general business, janitor, dietitian, etc.
Fig. 4.
IgG anti-HAV seropositive rates of potential high risk group (doctors, nurses and technicians) according to their ages.
Table 1.
IgG Anti-HAV Seropositive Rates in the Enrolled Subjects according to the Gender
| Age (yr) | Sex (Male/Female) | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 21-25 | 8/191 | 199 (19.9%) |
| 26-30 | 72/354 | 426 (42.5%) |
| 31-35 | 69/146 | 215 (21.5%) |
| 36-40 | 41/121 | 162 (16.1%) |
| Total | 190/812 | 1,002 |
Table 2.
Comparison of Seroprevalence Rate according to the Age and Gender Distribution
Table 3.
Comparison of Seroprevalence Rate according to the Occupations
| Age (yr) | Doctor | Nurse | Technician | Others∗ | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21-25 | 0/22 (0.0%) | 3/146 (2.1%) | 0/8 (0.0%) | 0/23 (0.0%) | 0.776 |
| 26-3031-35 | 16/110 (14.5%) 19/49 (38.8%) | 57/227 (25.1%) 42/87 (48.3%) | 5/39 (12.8%) 10/20 (50.0%) | 14/50 (28.0%) 33/59 (55.9%) | 0.049 0.365 |
| 36-40 | 9/15 (60.0%) | 62/73 (84.9%) | 11/13 (84.6%) | 48/61 (78.7%) | 0.162 |
| Total | 44/196 (22.4%) | 164/533 (30.7%) | 26/80 (32.5%) | 95/193 (49.2%) | <0.001 |
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