Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus among urban children aged 0-7 years in Yugoslavia.

In a study of the prevalence of hepatitis A virus antibody in urban Yugoslav children aged 0-7 years, 18.2% were positive; most of them were only a few months old. The maternal origin of antibody in these very young children could be inferred from the rapid decrease of antibody during the first 5-7 months of life, following which period until the age of 7 years, there was no significant increase in the proportion with antibody. It was concluded that the age range included in this study (0-7 years) does not represent a time of life when most urban Yugoslav children come into contact with hepatitis A virus.