Hepatitis A in south-eastern Sydney 1997-1999: continuing concerns for gay men and an outbreak among illicit drug users

Authors

  • Valerie C Delpech South East Sydney Public Health Unit, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
  • Sarah V Thackway New South Wales Health Department, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Lorraine Young South East Sydney Public Health Unit, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
  • Guilietta Pontivivo South East Sydney Public Health Unit, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
  • Elizabeth Smedley South East Sydney Public Health Unit, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
  • Keira Morgan South East Sydney Public Health Unit, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
  • Mark J Ferson South East Sydney Public Health Unit, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2000.24.32

Keywords:

hepatitis A virus, illicit drug use, male-to-male sexual contact, surveillance

Abstract

The incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in south-eastern Sydney is one of the highest in Australia with large outbreaks previously associated with male-to-male sexual contact. We report HAV notification trends over the period 1 June 1997 to 31 May 1999 for this location. In the first twelve-month period, 233 cases were notified (crude rate 30.5/100,000 per year) with a peak incidence of 110/100,000 in males aged 20-39 years. Over 60% of male cases reported male-to-male sexual contact. The notification rate (crude rate 15.5/100,000) and proportion of males (61%) was considerably lower in the following twelve month period with 118 cases notified. Less than a third of males reported male-to-male sexual contact. An outbreak (n = 45) of HAV among illicit drug users and their contacts was detected in December 1998. The transmission of HAV remains endemic in south-eastern Sydney. Vaccination among high-risk groups remains an important preventative strategy. Commun Dis Intell 2000;24:203-206.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ferson MJ, Young LC, Stokes ML. Changing epidemiology of hepatitis A in the 1990s in Sydney, Australia. Epidemiol Infect 1998;121:631-636.

Stokes ML, Ferson MJ, Young LC. Outbreak of hepatitis A among homosexual men in Sydney. Am J Public Health 1997;87:2039-2041.

Ferson MJ, Young LC. Hepatitis A in injecting drug users - preliminary report. Commun Dis Intell 1994;18:655.

Patti AM, Santi AL, Pompa MG, Giustini C, Vescia N, Mastroeni I, Fara GM. Viral hepatitis and drugs: a continuing problem. Int J Epidemiol 1993;22:135-139.

Centers for Disease Control. Recommendations for protection against viral hepatitis. MMWR 1985;34:313-324.

Centers for Disease Control. Hepatitis A among drug abusers. MMWR 1988;37:297-300.

Schade CP, Komorwska, D. Continuing outbreak of hepatitis A linked with intravenous drug abuse in Multnomah County. Public Health Rep 1988;103:452-459.

Harkess JK, Gildon B, Istre GB. Outbreaks of hepatitis A among illicit drug users Oklahoma, 1984-87. Am J Public Health 1989;79:463-466.

Jin A, Bardsley J. Intravenous drug use and hepatitis A: an investigation of an outbreak. Can J Public Health 1990;81:79-81.

Holter E, Siebke JC. Hepatitis A in young Norwegian drug addicts and prison inmates. Infection 1988;16:91-94.

Stene-Johansen K, Skaug K, Blystad H, Crinde B. A unique hepatitis A virus strain caused an epidemic in Norway associated with intravenous drug abuse. The Hepatitis A Study Group. Scand J Infect Dis 1998;30:35-38.

Leino T, Leinikki P, Hyypia T, Ristola M, Suni J, Sutinen J, Holopainen A, Haikala O, Valle M, Rostila T. Hepatitis A outbreak among intravenous amphetamine abusers in Finland. Scand J Infect Dis 1997;29:213-216.

Widell A, Hansson BG, Moestrup T, Nordenfelt E. Increased occurrence of hepatitis A with cyclic outbreaks among drug addicts in a Swedish community. Infection 1983;11:198-200.

Shaw DD, Whiteman DC, Merritt AD, el-Saadi DM, Stafford RJ, Heel K, Smith GA. Hepatitis A outbreaks among illicit drug users and their contacts in Queensland, 1997. Med J Aust 1997;170:584-587.

Gilroy NM, Tribe IG, Passaris I, Hall R, Beers MY. Hepatitis A in injecting drug users: a national problem. Med J Aust 2000;172:142-143.

Schade CP, Lambert EY. Factors in hepatitis A transmission. Am J Public Health 1989;79:1571.

Crofts N, Cooper G, Stewart T, Kiely P, Coghlan P, Hearne P, Hocking J. Exposure to hepatitis A virus among blood donors, injecting drug users and prison entrants in Victoria. J Viral Hepat 1997;4:333-338.

Sundkvist T, Johansson B, Widell A. Rectum carried drugs may spread hepatitis A among drug addicts. Scand J Infect Dis 1985;17:1-4.

Hollinger FB, Khan NC, Oefinger PE, Yawn DH, Schmulen AC, Dreesman GR, Melnick JL. Posttransfusion hepatitis type A. JAMA 1983;250:2313-2317.

Downloads

Published

31/07/00

How to Cite

Delpech, Valerie C, Sarah V Thackway, Lorraine Young, Guilietta Pontivivo, Elizabeth Smedley, Keira Morgan, and Mark J Ferson. 2000. “Hepatitis A in South-Eastern Sydney 1997-1999: Continuing Concerns for Gay Men and an Outbreak Among Illicit Drug Users”. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 24 (July):203-6. https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2000.24.32.

Issue

Vol. 24 (2000)

Section

Original article

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2000 Communicable Diseases Intelligence

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>