Hepatitis A control in a refugee camp by active immunization

An outbreak of hepatitis A occurred among children of a refugee camp in Croatia. In order to disrupt the outbreak, we decided to vaccinate children from 1 to 15 years of age in the camp, in addition to intensified general preventive measures. Assuming high prevalence of hepatitis A virus antibodies within this population, we conducted anti-HAV testing of the children eligible for vaccination. Of 108 children tested, 74 (68.50%) M ere anti-HAV positive. We vaccinated 34 children. One month after vaccination 31 previously negative children were tested for anti-HAV and 30 of them were found positive, suggesting a seroconversion rate of 96.8% One child fell ill 5 days after vaccination, after whom no new cases of hepatitis A occurred. Thus we conclude that active immunization is a successful means of stopping an outbreak of hepatitis A. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.