Prevalence of antibody to hepatitis A virus among children in Trabzon, Turkey

Viral hepatitis A is a major health problem in Turkey and in developing countries. The prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) among people in Europe has been found to increase from Northern to Southern Europe and increased rates are also reported for Eastern Europe. The prevalence of anti-HAV varies from 2.3 to 16.3% among children and teenagers in Italy. In a study carried out in adults in Turkey, the prevalence of anti-HAV was found to be about 90% (unpublished data). However, thus far no study carried out in children in our country has been published. We estimate that the prevalence of anti-HAV in children is very high in many regions of Turkey, as suggested by the results of this preliminary study carried out in Trabzon.