Changes in hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroprevalence in medical students in Bangkok, Thailand, from 1981 to 2016

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of anti-HAV IgG in Thai medical students in 2016 compared with the previous data and to demonstrate the cross-effective strategy to screen HAV seropositivity. RESULTS: Sera from 176 first-year medical students (age 19.07 ± 0.59 years; 50% female) at a university hospital in Thailand were tested for anti-HAV IgG. Data from HAV vaccination records and questionnaires were also collected. HAV seropositivity was unexpectedly high (62.5%, n = 110). 37.5% (n = 66) had an HAV vaccination record. Of these, 60.6% received the full HAV vaccination series, 4.5% received one HAV vaccination, 34.8% did not receive HAV vaccination, and 3.0% had natural HAV immunity. The long-term efficacy of HAV vaccination was at least 97.5% over a mean of 15.55 ± 2.44 years. There was a significant difference in immunity between students with (66.7%) and without (50.9%) vaccination records (P = 0.028). Most of the student’s parents had a bachelor’s degree or higher (87.9%; n = 272) and above average income (mean 17,000.76 ± 194.22 USD/person/year). Parental education and socioeconomic status influenced vaccination accessibility in these medical students. Screening of vaccination records instead of routine anti-HAV IgG testing is a cost-effective and reliable strategy to determine HAV immunity in medical students in Thailand.