Discussion on the Epidemic Characteristics of Hepatitis A and Countermeasures for the Prevention and Cure of the Disease in the City of Tai'an

Objective This study was intended to analyze the epidemic features of hepatitis A between 1990 and 2003 in Tai’an City．Methods Retrospective analysis was performed in light of hepatitis A eases reported in hospitals of Tai’an during 14 years．Resulls The morbidity rate of hepatitis A took on a descending trend annually．Since 1995，onsets of hepatitis A had taken a sharp decrease；the morbidity rate of 2003 decreased by 96.13％ compared with 1990, with a yearly reported average of 31.63／lakh；peaks of onsets occurred from September to November，despite the fact that no obvious zenith has e-merged since 1995；males were more likely to be affected than females，with a ratio of 1.69：1；most onsets were found among sporadically living children and primary and middle-school students aged from 3 to 15，which accounted for 43.17％ and 21.94％ of the total respectively，but in recent years，a no-table increasing tendency has (had) been observed in the population above 20 years old．Conclusion In-oculation of hepatitis A vaccines among relevant population and prevention against oral transmission path-ways are important measures to reduce onsets and control the outbreak and epidemic of diseases；in the meantime，it should be emphasized that populations above 20 years old should be administered timely im-munization and vaccination tO enhance the level of immunity in the population as a whole．