Changing patterns of hepatitis A virus infection in children in Palermo, Italy

In 1988 in Palermo, Italy, the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) in a sample of 490 children 6-13 years old was 10.6%; it increased from 6.3% among children 6-10 years old to 14.7% in children 11-13 years old (P less than 0.01). Compared with findings from a survey conducted in 1978 in the same area, the results of the present study show a significant (P less than 0.01) reduction in the anti-HAV prevalence in both age groups. Anti-HAV prevalence was inversely related to the father's years of education and positively related to the family size. Children of fathers with less than 6 years of schooling had a 3.2-fold risk (C.I. 95% = 1.3-8.1), and children with five or more members in their households had a 2.7-fold risk (C.I. 95% = 1.1-6.4) of previous exposure to hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection. Our findings indicate that exposure of children in Palermo to HAV is decreasing significantly, probably because of improvements in socio-economic conditions during recent years; however socio-demographic factors appear to be important determinants of infection.