Institute of Virology and Antiviral Therapy, Jena University Clinic, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Hans-Knoell-Straße 2, 07745, Jena, Germany.
Med Microbiol Immunol. 2013 Dec;202(6):417-24. doi: 10.1007/s00430-013-0303-4. Epub 2013 Jun 29.
Since hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection during childhood is mostly asymptomatic, only seroprevalence studies can provide reliable information on incidence of HAV infection in children. The prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies was determined in sera taken in 2008 to 2010 from 1,645 children aged 0-17 years and in sera taken in 2010-2011 from 400 adult blood donors in Germany. For examination of trend over time, 715 sera collected between 1999 and 2006 from children at the age of 0-17 years within the federal state Thuringia were included. Antibody testing was carried out using the test kits ETI-AB-HAVK PLUS and ETI-HA-IGMK PLUS from DiaSorin. In children, the overall prevalence of antibodies was 10.8 %. After the seroprevalence declined from 8.8 % among the 0-2 year-olds to 2.4 % among the 3-4 year-olds, there was a significant increase to 20.5 % in the group of the 15-17 year-olds. Boys had with 12.7 % a significantly higher seroprevalence of anti-HAV antibodies compared to 8.8 % among girls. In adult blood donors, there was a HAV seroprevalence of 19.3 %. The likelihood of past infection or immunization within the age groups of children from 0 to 12 years differed significantly from that of adults. In conclusion, in Germany, only a small number of HAV infections occur in children, especially up to the age of 12 years. The proportion of susceptible children is greater than the proportion of susceptible adults. Thus, during outbreaks, the rate of infection among children would usually be higher than the rate among adults.
由于儿童时期甲型肝炎病毒（HAV）感染大多无症状，只有血清流行率研究才能提供有关儿童 HAV 感染发生率的可靠信息。在德国，2008 年至 2010 年期间，从 1645 名 0-17 岁儿童的血清中，以及 2010 年至 2011 年期间从 400 名成年献血者的血清中，确定了抗 HAV 抗体的流行率。为了考察随时间推移的趋势，纳入了 715 份 1999 年至 2006 年期间在图林根州 0-17 岁儿童中采集的血清。抗体检测使用 DiaSorin 的 ETI-AB-HAVK PLUS 和 ETI-HA-IGMK PLUS 试剂盒进行。在儿童中，抗体的总体流行率为 10.8%。在血清流行率从 0-2 岁儿童的 8.8%下降到 3-4 岁儿童的 2.4%之后，15-17 岁儿童组的流行率显著上升至 20.5%。男孩的抗 HAV 抗体血清流行率为 12.7%，明显高于女孩的 8.8%。在成年献血者中，HAV 的血清流行率为 19.3%。0-12 岁儿童组与成年组之间过去感染或免疫的可能性存在显著差异。总之，在德国，儿童中 HAV 感染的人数很少，尤其是在 12 岁以下。易感儿童的比例大于易感成人的比例。因此，在疫情爆发期间，儿童的感染率通常会高于成人。
