Epidemiologic shift in the prevalence of Hepatitis A virus in Saudi Arabia: A case for routine Hepatitis A vaccination

This study aims to determine the seroprevalence of Hepatitis A among a selected group of Saudi children and thus, identify the best immunization strategy. A school-based seroprevalence study in children 4–18 years of age attending the National Guard schools was done. Of the 25,531 children attending the National Guard schools, 2399 (10%) were randomly selected through a stratified one-stage cluster survey. The overall prevalence of HAV-IgG was 28.9%. The prevalence was almost the same in male and female (28.2% versus 29.5%, respectively). There was a gradual increase in the HAV-IgG with 7% in children (16 years) of age. Since a substantial proportion of this pediatric population confirms a continuing decrease in anti-HAV seroconversion rates, we recommend including Hepatitis A in the schedule of routine childhood vaccinations.