OBJECTIVES: A cross-sectional study investigated the association of hepatitis A seropositivity with environmental and personal risk factors among children in a United States-Mexico border community. METHODS: Hepatitis A serological markers and a questionnaire identifying risk factors were evaluated for 523 primary school children. RESULTS: Of the children studied, 16.9% tested positive for total antihepatitis A virus. Risk factors included being in the first grade, low maternal educational attainment, living in Mexico for more than 6 months, household crowding, and inadequate excreta disposal systems. CONCLUSIONS: To decrease enteric disease, improvements in excreta disposal infrastructures and educational programs are needed. Hepatitis A vaccine should be administered before school age.
OBJECTIVES: A cross-sectional study investigated the association of hepatitis A seropositivity with environmental and personal risk factors among children in a United States-Mexico border community. METHODS:Hepatitis A serological markers and a questionnaire identifying risk factors were evaluated for 523 primary school children. RESULTS: Of the children studied, 16.9% tested positive for total antihepatitis A virus. Risk factors included being in the first grade, low maternal educational attainment, living in Mexico for more than 6 months, household crowding, and inadequate excreta disposal systems. CONCLUSIONS: To decrease enteric disease, improvements in excreta disposal infrastructures and educational programs are needed. Hepatitis A vaccine should be administered before school age.
Authors: Michelle Weinberg; Stephen Waterman; Carlos Alvarez Lucas; Veronica Carrion Falcon; Pablo Kuri Morales; Luis Anaya Lopez; Chris Peter; Alejandro Escobar Gutiérrez; Ernesto Ramirez Gonzalez; Ana Flisser; Ralph Bryan; Enrique Navarro Valle; Alfonso Rodriguez; Gerardo Alvarez Hernandez; Cecilia Rosales; Javier Arias Ortiz; Michael Landen; Hugo Vilchis; Julie Rawlings; Francisco Lopez Leal; Luis Ortega; Elaine Flagg; Roberto Tapia Conyer; Martin Cetron Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2003-01 Impact factor: 6.883