Recent Epidemiological Status and Vaccination of Hepatitis A in Korea

Jong-Hyun Kim

doi:10.5124/jkma.2008.51.2.110

J Korean Med Assoc > Volume 51(2); 2008 > Article

Kim: Recent Epidemiological Status and Vaccination of Hepatitis A in Korea

Focused Issue of This Month

Newly Developed Vaccines and New Vaccination

Journal of the Korean Medical Association

Journal of the Korean Medical Association 2008; 51(2): 110-118.

Published online: February 28, 2008

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2008.51.2.110

Recent Epidemiological Status and Vaccination of Hepatitis A in Korea

Jong-Hyun Kim, MD

Department of Childhood and Adolescent Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Korea. jh00mn@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Hepatitis A is a vaccine preventable disease. Improvement in the socio-economic status and general public health of Korea over the last 30 years has led to a shift in the seroprevalence of hepatitis A. This lowered endemicity has caused an upward shift in the average age of infection, resulting in a larger number of individuals at risk of clinically significant hepatitis A infection. Now in Korea, for those aged less than 10 years old, the anti-HAV prevalence was above 50%, which is mainly contributed to the result of vaccination. However, the prevalences of antibody in the 10s and 20s were 10 to 30%, respectively, which are significantly lower than those in other age groups. As people in this age group are at high risk for an epidemic of hepatitis A, a catch-up immunization may be considered. Also, routine immunization should be considered in the near future after cost-effectiveness studies to control the disease burden of hepatitis A.

Hepatitis A; Epidemiology; Hepatitis A vaccine; Immunization

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Figure 1

Summary of clinical, virologic, and serologic findings in uncomplicated acute hepatitis A.

Figure 2

Geographic distributions of acute hepatitis A in National Sentinel Surveillance System on 2006 (3).

Figure 3

Age-specific seroprevalence of anti-HAV in Korea on 2006 (22).

Figure 4

Seroepidemiologic changes of anti-HAV in Korea between 1979 and 2006 (22~25).

Figure 5

Sales amount of hepatitis A vaccine in Korea between 1998 and 2006 (unpublished data).

^*Sum of total doses during 1998~2006 ÷ sum of total birth number during 1997~2005 = 4,184,202 ÷ 5,027,893 = 41.6% (estimated hepatitis A vaccine coverage rate).

Table 1

Reported cases of acute hepatitis A in National Sentinel Surveillance System (3)