Kendall B J, Cooksley W G
Gastroenterology Department, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
Drugs. 1991 Jun;41(6):883-8. doi: 10.2165/00003495-199141060-00006.
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) occurs worldwide. In developing countries the virus is endemic, with the majority of the population being exposed to it in childhood, when the infection usually causes, at the most, a mild anicteric illness. In developed countries the majority of HAV infections occur at a later age, often in adults, especially those with a history of recent travel to developing countries. In adults, HAV infection usually causes a symptomatic icteric illness. In addition to community sanitation and hygiene measures, prophylactic prevention of hepatitis A infection can be achieved by 2 methods. The first is the established and widely used method of passive immunisation using human immune globulin from pooled serum. Indications for the use of human immune globulin are: (a) travellers who will be exposed to unhygienic conditions in high risk countries; and (b) contacts of patients with acute hepatitis A infection, in certain circumstances. The second method currently undergoing research, and trials, is active immunisation using either live-attenuated or killed vaccines, which have given encouraging results in a number of trials. Further vaccines, using molecular biology techniques, are currently being developed.
甲型肝炎病毒（HAV）在全球范围内均有发生。在发展中国家，该病毒呈地方性流行，大多数人口在儿童时期就接触过该病毒，此时感染通常最多只会引发轻度无黄疸型疾病。在发达国家，大多数甲型肝炎病毒感染发生在较晚的年龄段，通常是成年人，尤其是近期有前往发展中国家旅行史的人。在成年人中，甲型肝炎病毒感染通常会引发有症状的黄疸型疾病。除了社区卫生和卫生措施外，甲型肝炎感染的预防性预防可通过两种方法实现。第一种是使用来自混合血清的人免疫球蛋白进行被动免疫的既定且广泛使用的方法。使用人免疫球蛋白的指征为：（a）将在高风险国家接触不卫生条件的旅行者；以及（b）在某些情况下，甲型肝炎急性感染患者的接触者。目前正在研究和试验的第二种方法是使用减毒活疫苗或灭活疫苗进行主动免疫，这在一些试验中取得了令人鼓舞的结果。目前正在使用分子生物学技术研发更多疫苗。
