[Seroepidemiologic studies on hepatitis A infections in German and foreign children living in Berlin (West)].

The incidence of antibody to hepatitis A (anti-HAV) was studied in two populations living in Berlin (West): German children and children of parents, coming from Mediterranean countries, mainly from Turkey (77%). Sera of 366 German and 280 foreign children aged between 1 and 17 years were tested by a competitive binding radioimmunoassay (HAVAB). In the group of German children only 15 (4.1%) had anti-HAV, but there were 86 (30.7%) among the foreign children. In contrast to the results taken from German children the presence of anti-HAV in foreign children was significantly according to their age. The frequency of anti-HAV rose from 2.6% in children aged between 1 and 2 years to nearly 90% in children older than 10 years.