Amaç: Bu çalışmada Doğu Anadolu’da hizmet veren bir üniversite hastanesinin Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı’na başvuran 2 16 yaş grubundaki olgularda hepatit A virüsü için seropozitifliği tespit etmek istedik Gereç ve Yöntem: 2004 Ocak 2005 Temmuz tarihleri arasında kliniğimize başvuran 2 yaş ile 16 yaş arasındaki 685 çocuk hasta çalışmaya alındı Serolojik verilerin değerlendirilmesinde 967;2 testi kullanıldı Bulgular: Çalışmaya dahil edilen olguları yaş gruplarına göre incelediğimizde hepatit A seropozitifliğinin okula giden çocuklarda okul öncesine göre anlamlı derecede arttığını tespit ettik 967;2: 18 46 p lt;0 00001 Şehir merkezinden ve kırsal kesimden başvuran olgular arasında ise seropozitiflik açısından anlamlı fark yoktu 967;2: 0 82 p= 0 365 Çıkarımlar: Çocuklarda hepatit A enfeksiyonu ile temas yaşı ergenlik dönemine doğru kaymaktadır İlk öğretime başlayacak çocuklara Hepatit A enfeksiyonundan korunmak için aşılama önerilmelidir Anahtar kelimeler: hepatit A enfeksiyonu Malatya seropozitiflik SummaryObjective: We aimed to determine the seropositivity of hepatitis A infection in patients aged between 2 16 years who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of a university hospital in Eastern Anatolia Material and Method: We studied 685 subjects aged between 2 16 years who were admitted to our Department between 2004 January and 2005 July We used 967;2 test to evaluate serological results Results: There is statistically significant increase of hepatitis A seropositivity in subjects attending school when compared with subjects before primary school 967;2: 18 46 p lt;0 00001 There is no significant difference of serological results between subjects of rural and urban origin 967;2: 0 82 p= 0 365 Conclusions: Age of exposure to hepatitis A infection for children is increasing towards puberty Hepatitis A vaccination should be recommended for susceptible children before attending primary school Key words: hepatitis A infection Malatya seropositivity

Objective: We aimed to determine the seropositivity of hepatitis A infection in patients aged between 2 16 years who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of a university hospital in Eastern Anatolia Material and Method: We studied 685 subjects aged between 2 16 years who were admitted to our Department between 2004 January and 2005 July We used 967;2 test to evaluate serological results Results: There is statistically significant increase of hepatitis A seropositivity in subjects attending school when compared with subjects before primary school 967;2: 18 46 p lt;0 00001 There is no significant difference of serological results between subjects of rural and urban origin 967;2: 0 82 p= 0 365 Conclusions: Age of exposure to hepatitis A infection for children is increasing towards puberty Hepatitis A vaccination should be recommended for susceptible children before attending primary school Key words: hepatitis A infection Malatya seropositivity