Assessment of the Prevalence of Hepatitis A in Children in Yasuj

Hepatitis A is one of the most common viral infections in children that affects the liver and may be with or without symptoms. The disease is transmitted through oral-fecal excretion and its prevalence is clearly related to the level of health of the target community and is therefore one of the health problems of the world and developing countries. Hepatitis A is present in all parts of the world, but its prevalence varies in different parts of the world. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine and evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis A in children in Yasuj.

 The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015. Three hundred and seventy nine children aged one month to 15 years entered the study and were selected by quota sampling method. The blood serum sample of the sample group in the laboratory was examined by ELISA for hepatitis A antibody. To assess the relationship between age, parental education, income level, area of residence, gender and use of kindergarten with hepatitis were examined. Data were analyzed using chi-square test and gamma tracking.

The results indicated that in this study, the prevalence of hepatitis A in Yasuj city was 11.6% (44 people). The two analyzes revealed a significant association between the prevalence of hepatitis A with age (x2=78/38) at the level (p=0.01), and children under one year of age had the highest incidence and children aged one to 5 years had the lowest incidence (relative to group population). There was no significant relationship between the prevalence of hepatitis and gender, the level of education of parents and family income.

According to the results of the prevalence of hepatitis A, it is necessary to pay more attention and training to older groups at higher risk in order to prevent and reduce the damage.