Vancouver at high risk for hepatitis A outbreak

In Vancouver recurrent outbreaks of hepatitis A virus (HAV) among injection drug users and men who have sex with men (MSM) have contributed to a HAV rate up to 3 times the national average. In measuring the frequency of past HAV infection in a sample of 494 Vancouver street youth, injection drug users (IDUs) and MSM, anti-HAV antibodies were found in 6.3% of street youth, 42.6% of IDUs and 14.7% of people who denied injection drug use. The authors warn that due to the relatively low rate of anti-HAV antibodies in street youth, and their exposure to other risk factors for HAV infection (injection drug use, involvement in the sex trade, among others) “it would seem that an outbreak of hepatitis A is just waiting to happen.”

Past infection with hepatitis A virus among Vancouver street youth, injection drug users and men who have sex with men: implications for vaccination programs

-— J.J. Ochnio, et al

Contact: Dr. Jan Ochnio, Vaccine Evaluation Centre, Vancouver

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