Study on hepatitis A epidemiological feature and preventive and control measures in Gongyi, Henan

ObjectiveTo analyze the epidemiological feature of hepatitis A in Gongyi from 2001 to 2007. MethodsA systematic analysis was conduct on the hepatitis A cases reported by medical institutions during this period. ResultsThe incidence rate of hepatitis A declined year by year, the incidence rate in 2007 declined by 80.80% compared with 2001. The average annual reported incidence rate was 8.59/lakh, small peak of incidence was observed during September-November. More cases occurred in males than in females with gender ratio of 1.55∶1. For population distribution, the proportion of the cases occurred in farmers was highest (44.86%). For age distribution, most cases occurred in the people aged 25-70 years, followed by the people less than 15 years old (37.32%). Conclusionhepatitis A vaccination and food hygiene are important to control the outbreak and epidemic of hepatitis A. The vaccination to eligible persons aged 25 years should be strengthened to increase herd immunity