PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS-A, HEPATITIS-B, AND HEPATITIS-C MARKERS IN SCHOOL-CHILDREN OF A RURAL AREA OF CRETE, GREECE

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hepatitis A, B, and C marker s in children who were attending junior and senior high schools in a h igh risk area in rural Crete, Greece. Methods: Three-hundred and thirt y-four children who attended the three junior schools and one senior h igh school in the Agios Vassilios province of Southern Crete were invi ted to participate in the study. Three hundred and four of them were t ested for hepatitis A, B, and C markers. Hepatitis B (HBV) markers (HB sAg and anti-HBc) as well as hepatitis A (anti-HAV) and hepatitis (ant i-HCV) antibodies were tested with commercial enzyme-linked immunosorb ent assay kits. Results: Six of the 304 children (1.97%) were found to be positive for anti-HAV, 1 (0.33%) to HBsAg, 7 (2.30%) to anti-HBc a nd none were found positive for anti-HCV. No significant differences w ere seen between the prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies in males (2%) a nd females (1.95%), and of anti-HBc antibodies in males (3.33%) and fe males (1.30%). Conclusions: The very low prevalence of anti-HAV is obv iously due to the improved conditions of hygiene and it raises the que stion of the possible emergence of this disease at an older age and th erefore appropriate preventative strategies should be considered. The low endemicity of hepatitis B in Crete in contrast to other areas of G reece also calls for a vaccination policy probably during adolescence. The absence of hepatitis C markers in the children in contrast to the observed higher prevalence of HCV-infected people in the adult popula tion in the same rural area raises questions regarding possible source s of transmission of hepatitis C during the preceding years.