Screening for hepatitis A virus antibodies among a disadvantaged group of preschool children in Alexandria

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) immunity in a group of socially and economically deficient preschool children in Alexandria has been investigated. A total of 228 randomly selected children were enrolled. Saliva was collected from every child using a cotton wool swab. Anti-HAV was investigated in the collected saliva by a competitive ELISA technique utilizing a commercially available kit. The results revealed that among the investigated children 60 (26.3%) were anti-HAV positive. The mean age of anti-HAV positive children was 4.43 years +/- 0.21 years. Ten (33.3%) couples were siblings, 2 (3.3%) children gave a positive history of jaundice. As regards housing conditions; 34 (56.7%) of anti-HAV positive children had indoor sources of water supply and 26 (43.3%) had outdoor ones. The mean crowding index was 3.35 +/- 1.72. Positive anti-HAV was significantly more prevalent among older (P < 0.05) and among female children (P < 0.02). In conclusion, the routine administration of hepatitis A vaccine, combined with improvements in sanitation should reduce the incidence of acute illness and complications associated with the disease thereby decreasing the spread of HAV in developing countries.