Abstract

RINCON, Carlos J et al. Assessing the force of hepatitis A virus infection in Colombia by applying catalytic models. Rev. salud pública [online]. 2012, vol.14, n.2, pp.282-295. ISSN 0124-0064.

Aims Estimating the force of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection concerning a 1- to 15-year-old child population being attended at six healthcare centres in Colombia by applying catalytic models. Methods Anti-HAV seroprevalence was estimated in 2,152 patients attending six health centres in 5 Colombian cities; based on such estimation, the force of infection and average age of infection were obtained for each region. Results The 1- to 4-year-old age group’s force of infection was 0.15 in Barranquilla; for the other cities the force of infection was 0.02 in Bogotá for the 5- to 15-year-old age group and 0.06 in Medellin for the 1- to 9-year-old age group. Average infection age in Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali and Medellin was 10.68 to 11.97 years-old. Conclusion There was high anti-HAV prevalence in the young-adult population, average infection age being 10.69 to 11.97 years-old, thereby presenting a similar pattern to that of developing regions having intermediate level of endemicity.

Keywords : Hepatitis A; prevalence; models; statistical statistical model.

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