Susceptibility to hepatitis A virus infection among chronic liver disease patients and healthy blood donors in Thailand

• Published in: Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 91 - 95
• Main Authors: PRAMOOLSINSAP, C, ATTAMASIRUL, K, BUSAGORN, N, MANEERAT, Y, NUCHPRAYOON, C, TANPRASERT, S, SRIVATANAKUL, P, THEAMBOONLERS, A, HIRSCH, P, POOVORAWAN, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bangkok Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, Regional Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network 01.03.1999
• Subjects: Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Donors - statistics & numerical data; Carrier State - epidemiology; Case-Control Studies; Chronic Disease; Disease Susceptibility - blood; Disease Susceptibility - epidemiology; Disease Susceptibility - etiology; Disease Susceptibility - immunology; Endemic Diseases - statistics & numerical data; Female; Hepatitis A - blood; Hepatitis A - epidemiology; Hepatitis A - etiology; Hepatitis A - immunology; Hepatitis A - transmission; Hepatitis A Antibodies; Hepatitis Antibodies - blood; Hepatitis B, Chronic - complications; Hepatitis C, Chronic - complications; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Liver Cirrhosis - complications; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Socioeconomic Factors; Thailand - epidemiology; Tropical medicine; Viral diseases; Viral hepatitis; Thailand; Asia; Human; Prevalence; Hepatic disease; Medical screening; Infection; Viral hepatitis A; Hepatitis; Chronic; Association; Viral disease; Digestive diseases; Comparative study; Blood donor
• ISSN: 0125-1562

Due to improvements in socio-economic and sanitation conditions, Thailand has undergone a change from hyperendemicity to intermediate endemicity for hepatitis A virus infection, leaving a large part of the adult population without immunity. At the same time, the country is still highly endemic for hepatitis B and especially in the northeast, hepatitis C virus infection both of which when acquired during infancy or early childhood exhibit a strong tendency to turn towards chronic liver disease, although in particular with hepatitis B virus the asymptomatic carrier state is also rather common. As no cross-immunity exists between any of these viruses, double or triple infections do occur, a situation where previously acquired immunity to HAV becomes crucial as double infections have been shown to take a more severe or even fatal course. In the present study, we investigated 820 HBV- and/or HCV-related chronic liver disease (CLD) patients and 195 blood donors, both groups divided by 10-year age intervals, for the prevalence of anti-HAV. The results showed the same age dependence of immunity for all groups tested as can be expected for an area of intermediate endemicity, in that approximately 50% of those between 21 and 30 years of age had acquired anti-HAV. These findings indicate the immune response to HAV infection not to be altered by chronic infection with either HBV or HCV. Hence, vaccination against HAV should be considered, particularly in anti-HAV-negative patients with CLD.