Lucht F, Berthelot P, Job P, Bonnevial L, Digonnet C, Fresard A, Chabert B, Cabal C, Pozzetto B
Service des Maladies infectieuses et tropicales, CHU de Saint-Etienne.
Presse Med. 1996 Sep 7;25(25):1141-3.
In industrialized countries with a high level of sanitation, immunity against hepatitis A (HVA) is not acquired during childhood, and infection typically occurs in adults, mainly in travelers returning from developing countries where infection is endemic. However, the introduction of hepatitis A virus (HAV) among certain population groups, such as intravenous drug users (IVDU) or homosexual men, leads to a significant increase in the disease. We conducted a retrospective analysis of seroprevalence of anti-HAV antibodies.
The study group included 296 patients (174 homosexual men and 122 IVDU) for comparison with 76 control subjects (nurses in pediatric wards and workers in hospital kitchen).
We found a significantly higher anti-HAV seroprevalence among less than 35-year old IVDU, HIV positive or negative, in comparison with control subjects but not among homosexual men, whatever their HIV status.
Our experience illustrates that HVA is a health risk for IVDU in industrialized nations, and given its morbidity among adults population, IVDU should receive HVA vaccine.
