The First Ten Years of Hepatitis A Surveillance Through Mandatory Reporting, France, 2006–2015

Introduction: Hepatitis A surveillance has been conducted through mandatory reporting since November 2005, with the objectives of detecting clusters of cases to enable rapid implementation of control measures and estimating reported incidence rates. The results of the analysis of cases reported during the first ten years of surveillance (2006–2015) are presented. Methods: A case (IgM anti-HAV positive) must be reported to the Regional Health Agency using a mandatory reporting form. This form collects sociodemographic and clinical information as well as details of risk exposures (including cases among close contacts, travel outside mainland France, and consumption of seafood). Results: For the period 2006–2015, 11,158 cases of hepatitis A were reported, representing an average reported incidence rate of 1.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. A downward trend in this rate was observed starting in 2010. The average reported incidence rate among men was 1.9 per 100,000 and among women 1.4 per 100,000, with a downward trend for both sexes. The main risk exposures were the presence of cases in the immediate environment (46%) and travel outside mainland France (38%). Thirty-two percent of cases were part of an identified cluster. Each year, the proportion of clustered cases remained relatively stable, ranging from 28% to 37%. Conclusion: The annual incidence rate of reported cases has gradually decreased since 2010, reaching in 2015 that of a country with low hepatitis A endemicity (1.1 per 100,000). The highest reported incidence rates were found among children under 15 years of age, the age group most affected due to the fecal-oral transmission of the virus, which is facilitated within families and children’s communities. Data collected by the Department of Health and through investigations of clusters of cases led, in 2009, to the development of vaccination recommendations for family members of a patient with hepatitis A and for communities living in conditions of poor hygiene. The downward trend in reported incidence observed starting in 2010 may be due to the impact of these vaccination recommendations.

Author(s): Couturier E, Mouna L, Letort MJ, van Cauteren D, Roque Afonso AM, de Valk H

Publishing year: 2018

Pages: 68-77

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2018, n° 5, p. 68-77

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