Should aboriginals in the "top end" of the Northern Territory be vaccinated against hepatitis A?

Author(s)
Bowden FJ
Miller NC
Currie, Bart
Locarnini SA
Krause, Vicki
Publication Date
1994-09-19
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the level of immunity to hepatitis A virus infection in rural Australian Aboriginal populations in the "Top End" of the Northern Territory. METHODS: A total of 344 sera, for which details of donors' age, sex and domicile were available, were collected and tested for hepatitis A total antibody in a delinked seroprevalence study. RESULTS: Overall, 337/344 samples (97.97%) tested positive for hepatitis A total antibodies--18/20 samples (90%) in the 1-5 year age group; 85/88 (96.6%) in the 6-10 year age group; 98/98 (100%) in the 11-15 year age group; 32/33 (97.0%) in the 16-20 year age group and 104/105 (99%) in the older than 20 year age group. CONCLUSION: Hepatitis A is hyperendemic in the rural Aboriginal communities studied and the virus is acquired predominantly in the first five years of life. Symptomatic hepatitis A infection is uncommon in this population. We suggest that hepatitis A vaccination for rural Aboriginal children is not indicated as it would not reduce clinical disease rates and may produce a cohort whose immunity could decrease over the following 10 years. Although vaccination is appropriate for non-immune individuals working in remote communities, emphasis must be placed on the inequities in health infrastructure and education underlying the high transmission rates in Aboriginal children.
Affiliation
Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services, Darwin.
Citation
Med J Aust. 1994 Sep 19;161(6):372-3.
Pubmed ID
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8090115/?otool=iaurydwlib
Link
Volume
161
Subject
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
*Health Services Needs and Demand
Hepatitis A/blood/*ethnology/immunology/*prevention & control/transmission
Hepatitis A Antibodies
Hepatitis A Vaccines
Hepatitis Antibodies/blood
Hepatovirus/immunology
Humans
Infant
Male
Northern Territory/epidemiology
*Oceanic Ancestry Group
*Population Surveillance
Prevalence
Rural Population
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Vaccination/adverse effects/*statistics & numerical data
*Vaccines, Inactivated
*Viral Hepatitis Vaccines
Title
Should aboriginals in the "top end" of the Northern Territory be vaccinated against hepatitis A?
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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