ISSN:
1573-7284
Keywords:
Hepatitis A
;
Outbreak
;
Adults
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Between September, 1988 and January, 1989 a common source outbreak of 47 cases of serologically confirmed hepatitis A occurred in a town of central Italy. Thirty-eight cases were primary, three co-primary and six secondary. The highest age-specific attack rate was seen in subjects aged 15–24 years (120 per 100,000); the mean age of cases was 24.6 years and the median age was 22 years. A matched triplet case-control study showed significant association between the disease and consumption of either raw mussels (41% of cases, compared with 10% of controls; P 〈 0.0001) or a single brand of mineral water (63% of cases, compared with 41% of controls; P 〈 0.05). The mean age of the cases reflects the shift in primary susceptibility to the infection from younger to older age groups, a finding which has recently been demonstrated by several seroepidemiological surveys in Italy.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00145788
Permalink