Hepatitis A antibody in Israel Defence Forces recruits

Sera drawn from a sample of 1,147 military inductees, representative of the conscript population entering service in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), in 1977, were examined by radioimmunoassay for hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibody. The prevalence of HAV antibody is considerably higher in males of Eastern origin (84.4%) than of Western origins (39.7%) and in females of Eastern origin (79.9%) as compared with those of Western origin (30.3%). The difference between males and females is not statistically significant when level of education is controlled. An inverse association between years of schooling and HAV antibodies is evident both for males and females, but is stronger in Westerners than Easterners. These findings have implications for HAV prevention in the IDF.