Hepatitis A en niños / Hepatitis A in children

La Hepatitis A (HVA), también llamada hepatitis infecciosa, transmitida por alimentos, epidémica,ictericia catarral o epidémica, entre otros, es una enfermedad producida por un agente viral que se trasmite por vía fecal oral y generalmente su curso es autolimitado, aunque, puede progresar ahepatitis fulminante ocasionando la muerte a una proporción pequeña de los infectados. Pertenece al géner o Hepatovir us de la Familia Picornaviridae. La HVA, tiene una distribución universal, aunque con grandes diferencias geográficas en cuanto a su prevalencia, ocurre en forma esporádica y epidémica en todo el mundo, con una tendencia a presentarse en ciclos. La HVA, tiene un periodo de incubación prolongado, entre 15 a 50 días, con un promedio de 29 días, lo que hace difícil relacionar los síntomas con algún alimento o bebida ingerida. El diagnostico de la HVA, se basa en la detección de anticuerpos contra el VHA tipo IgM e IgG. El tratamiento básicamente es de soporte, sintomático y en casos de falla hepática, el trasplante es la única opción. La inmunoglobulina confiere inmunidad pasiva a corto plazo mientras la vacuna provee una protección activa a largo plazo.

Hepatitis A (HVA), also called infectious hepatitis, foodborne, epidemic, or epidemic or catarrhaljaundice, among others, is a disease caused by a viral agent that spreads through fecal-oral routeand usually self-limited course, although fulminant hepatitis can progress to causing death to a small proportion of those infected. Is a Hepatovirus genus of the Picornaviridae Family. The HVA, has a worldwide distribution, but with large geographical differences in its prevalence, occurs in sporadic and epidemic worldwide, with a tendency to occur in cycles. The HVA, has a long incubation period between 15 to 50 days, with an average of 29 days, making it difficult to correlate symptoms with food or drink intake. The diagnosis of HVA was based on the detection of antibodies against HAV IgM and IgG.

Interchangeability of a hepatitis A vaccine second dose: Avaxim 80 following a first dose of Vaqta 25 or Havrix 720 in children in Turkey.

INTRODUCTION: This randomised, observer-blind clinical trial conducted in Turkey evaluated the immunogenicity, safety and interchangeability of three paediatric inactivated hepatitis A vaccines in 424 seronegative children between 1 and 15 years of age. METHODS: Potential subjects were screened for anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibodies prior to receiving a first dose of Avaxim 80, Havrix 720 or Vaqta 25, followed by a second dose of either the same vaccine or Avaxim 6 months later. Anti-HAV antibody concentrations were measured 2 weeks after the first injection, at 24 weeks (before the second dose) and at 28 weeks for the evaluation of the immune response. RESULTS: Nearly 80% of the children between 1 and 5 years of age and half of those between the ages of 6 and 10 in the population from which the subjects were recruited were seronegative for HAV antibodies. Two weeks after the first dose, 98.2% of all subjects had anti-HAV antibody concentrations equal to or higher than 20 mIU/mL, believed to be seroprotective, and all subjects were seroprotected before and after the second dose. Anti-HAV geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) 2 weeks after the first dose and before the second were similar in children who received Avaxim and Vaqta (P = 0.2), but both were higher than Havrix (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in the anti-HAV GMCs between the study groups that received two doses of the same vaccine compared with two doses of different vaccines. There were no significant differences in the frequency of any local or systemic adverse events among the study groups following either of the two doses. CONCLUSION: All three vaccines are safe and highly immunogenic in healthy children aged 1 to 15 years. Avaxim 80 may also be given as the second dose when Havrix 720 or Vaqta 25 are given as the first dose. The pattern of seroprevalence seen here is similar to that reported in a number of recent evaluations in Turkey, and are supportive of the routine hepatitis A vaccination of young children.