Major article
Low level of immunity against hepatitis A among Korean adolescents: Vaccination rate and related factors

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2013.03.300Get rights and content

Background

We evaluated the current vaccination rate and immunity in the Korean adolescent population and analyzed their parents’ attitudes toward hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccination.

Methods

Between March and April 2011, sera were collected for immunoglobulin (Ig) G anti-HAV testing from students in their first year of high school from 12 different high schools located in southwestern Seoul. Simultaneously, questionnaires were given to the parents of the students to evaluate factors related to HAV vaccination, including demographics, HAV vaccination status, reason for getting the vaccination, and awareness regarding HAV.

Results

Sera from 2,879 subjects and questionnaires from their parents were collected. The HAV vaccination rate among adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years was 18.9%, and the seroprevalence was 15.4%. Among subjects who reported receiving the HAV vaccination, the IgG anti-HAV seropositivity rate was only 42.2%. For subjects who were not vaccinated, the IgG anti-HAV seropositivity rate was 9.1%. The most significant reason for receiving the vaccination was recommendation from health care providers; the most important source of information regarding the vaccination was public health organizations.

Conclusion

HAV vaccination rate and anti-HAV seroprevalence in Korean adolescents was low; the seropositivity rate in the vaccinated group was lower than expected. Actively recommending HAV vaccination in this group is required, and routine, nationwide, government-sponsored vaccination of adolescents against HAV should be considered.

Section snippets

Study design and population

This study was conducted between March and April 2011 in Guro-gu, which is located in southwestern Seoul, Korea. Guro-gu is an urban area with 12 general, private, and specialty high schools and approximately 12,000 students. Among these students, 3,800 students in their first year of high school were born in approximately 1997 when the first HAV vaccination was given. The Guro-gu Public Health Center visited all 12 schools and provided brief explanations regarding HAV antibody testing and

Baseline characteristics

The mean age of parents was 44.34 ± 4.22 years and that of students was 15.41 ± 0.91 years. Students aged 15 years accounted for the highest proportion of students tested (56.8%), followed by those aged 16 years with 39.4%. Among the 2,879 students, 48.6% were male, and 51.4% were female. Survey of parental educational background showed that 61.9% had received less than a high school education, and 38.1% had attended college or higher courses. Monthly family income levels were stratified into 5

Discussion

This was the first survey assessing HAV vaccination rate among adolescents in Korea, where it is difficult to accurately assess HAV vaccination coverage. No registry data were available after vaccination; one must remember whether one has been vaccinated. Therefore, this study included not only HAV vaccination rate based on self-reporting but also measurement of IgG anti-HAV seroprevalence. HAV vaccination rate was 18.9% for students aged 14 to 17 years from southwestern Seoul. IgG anti-HAV

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  • Cited by (9)

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    Conflicts of interest: None to report.

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