Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) in Korea during 2005.
Methods: Study subjects were selected from across Korea using a stratified multistage probability sampling design, and HAV and HEV seroprevalence was compared on the basis of sex, age, and residency. A total of 497 rural and urban people aged 10-99 years of age (mean ± SD age = 28.87 ± 17.63 years) were selected by two-stage cluster sampling and tested serologically for anti-HAV and anti-HEV IgG using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results: Among this population, the overall seroprevalence of HAV was 63.80% (55.21% aged in their 20s and 95.92% in their 30s, p < 0.01) and that of HEV was 9.40% (5.21% aged in their 20s and 7.14% in their 30s, p < 0.01). Seroprevalence also varied according to area of residence. HEV prevalence in rural areas was higher than that of urban regions based on the anti-HEV antibody, odds ratio 3.22 (95% confidence interval: 1.46-7.10, p < 0.01). There were no significant differences between male and female against anti-HAV/HEV antibodies.
Conclusion: Our study suggested that the seropositive rates of HAV and HEV might be related to age and environmental conditions.
Keywords: Korea; hepatitis A virus; hepatitis E virus; seroprevalence.