Hepatitis A virus infection in children in Sardinia, Italy

The prevalence of antibody to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) in a sample of 1662 Sardinian children aged 3 to 11 years was estimated by ELISA. The overall anti-HAV prevalence was 3.8 per cent; it increased from zero among children of 3 to 7.2 per cent in children of 11 years. A slight male predominance was observed (4 versus 3.6 per cent). Anti-HAV prevalence was inversely related to the number of years of education received by the father and positively related to the number of households in the sample. Children whose fathers had received less than six years of schooling, had a 6.2-fold risk (Cl 95 per cent = 2.6-15.3) and children with five or more households under one roof had a 2.6-fold risk (Cl 95 per cent = 1.4-5.0) of previous exposure to hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection. These findings suggest that exposure of Sardinian children to hepatitis A virus is relatively low, probably because of improvements in socioeconomic conditions in recent years in the island. However, overcrowding and poor education in the father of schooling appear to be important determinants of infection.