Recent Epidemiologic Changes of Acute and Chronic Hepatitis in Korea

In Korea, the pattern of age-specific seroprevalence of anti-HAV has changed with economic growth. The prevalence of anti-HAV in age 1~20 years declined from 60% in 1980 to 9% in 1995. As a result, this age group has a high risk for HAV infection, and actually the incidence of clinically overt hepatitis A is increasing in adolescents and young adults recently. In contrast, the prevalence of HBV carriers has been markedly decreased up to less than 1% in children because of the preventive strategies for HBV infection. The prevalence of HBsAg among Korean adults also declined from 8.0% in male and 6.1% in female in the 1980s to 7.4% in male and 3.6% in female in 1997. This article reviews recent epidemiologic changes of acute and chronic hepatitis in Korea.