Prevalence of hepatitis A IgG in Irish international travellers

The authors have studied the sero-conversion levels of Irish international travellers over the past 6 years with regard to Hepatitis A IgG levels. The rate of sero-conversion is significantly associated with patient age (x2 = 77.8, df = 1, p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the antibody levels between males and females. The results show that a large proportion of younger people travelling to developing countries are unprotected against Hepatitis A. Also approximately 30% of travellers over the age of 40 years have not seroconverted from previous exposure and therefore remain at risk. The mortality associated with Hepatitis A is in high risk groups. Therefore vaccination should be considered.