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05/31 - Epidemia di epatite virale A in Campania (gennaio-agosto 2004). Rapporto conclusivo.A cura di Delia Boccia, Giuseppe Pontrelli, Massimiliano Di Renzi, Francesco Giugliano, Lucia Pastore Celentano, Marco Massari, Maria Rapicetta, Luciana Croci, Stefania Salmaso, e il Gruppo di lavoro ad hoc per l’indagine in Campania2005, iii, 39 p.
An outbreak of hepatitis A in Campania, Southern Italy (January-August 2004). Final report.
Edited by Delia Boccia, Giuseppe Pontrelli, Massimiliano Di Renzi, Francesco Giugliano, Lucia Pastore Celentano, Marco Massari, Maria Rapicetta, Luciana Croci, Stefania Salmaso, and the ad hoc Working group in Campania region
2005, iii, 39 p. (in Italian)
During 2004 a large outbreak of hepatitis A virus (HAV) occurred in Campania, in Southern Italy, with 882 cases reported from January 1 until August 1. The regional and local epidemiological units together with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (the Italian National Institute of Health) carried out activities in order to identify the infection source, the route of transmission, and to point out appropriate control measures. The ordinary surveillance system was enhanced with a web based reporting system (named EPOS), remotely accessed by various competent public health professionals, and able to produce standardised analyses and epidemic curves. A case-control study was conducted among residents of Ercolano, the municipality with the highest attack rate. Viral identification and genotyping were carried out on sera of a sub-set of patients cared in two regional hospitals and on samples of seafood systematically collected by retails across the region Campania. A same genotype of HAV was identified in 90% of the patients, pointing out the relevance of local contamination. The epidemiological analytical study showed that raw seafood consumption, in particular those illegally kept in water, was strongly associated with the development of HAV illness. The microbiological investigation on seafood identified the presence of HAV strains on the samples taken.
Key words: HAV, Genotyping, Outbreak, Case-control study
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