Seropositivity of Antibodies Against Hepatitis A Virus in Mashhad, Northeast of Iran, 2009: A Cross-Sectional Community-Based Study

Background: Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) is the most common cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide, mostly in developing countries. Objectives: This population based survey was performed to investigate HAV seroprevalence in Mashhad, northeast of Iran. Patients and Methods: A cross sectional study was performed on 1563 randomly selected individuals from general population of Mashhad, Iran, between May and September 2009. Serum samples were tested for total antiHAV antibodies using the EnzymeLinked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit. Data was analyzed using SPSS ver. 18.0 by Chisquare and Student’s tTests. Results: Seroprevalence of HAV infection was 69.6% (95% CI: 67.371.9%) with no difference between males and females. AntiHAV seropositivity increased with rising age from 9.4% in subjects younger than 5 years to 100.0% in individuals older than 65 years old (P 0.001). Conclusions: As it was previously reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) on HAV infection in the country, this study revealed a high prevalence of HAV infection in Mashhad.