Epidemiological Characteristics and Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Hepatitis A in Spain in the Context of the 2016/2017 European Outbreak
The aim of our study was to describe the results of the epidemiological surveillance of hepatitis A infections in Spain in the context of the 2016/2017 European outbreak, particularly of hepatitis A outbreaks reported in the MSM population, incorporating the results of a spatio-temporal analysis of...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Data de publicação: | 2022 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) |
| Repositório: | Repisalud |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repisalud.isciii.es:20.500.12105/15851 |
| Acesso em linha: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/15851 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | Hepatitis A Adolescent Adult Female Humans Male Young Adult Disease Outbreaks Homosexuality, Male Spain |
| Resumo: | The aim of our study was to describe the results of the epidemiological surveillance of hepatitis A infections in Spain in the context of the 2016/2017 European outbreak, particularly of hepatitis A outbreaks reported in the MSM population, incorporating the results of a spatio-temporal analysis of cases. Hepatitis A cases and outbreaks reported in 2016-2017 to the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network were reviewed: outbreaks in which some of the cases belonged to the MSM group were described, and clusters of hepatitis A cases in men and women were analysed using a space-time scan statistic. Twenty-six outbreaks were identified, with a median size of two cases per outbreak, with most of the outbreak-related cases belonging to the 15-44 years-old group. Nearly 85% occurred in a household setting, and in all outbreaks, the mode of transmission was direct person-to-person contact. Regarding space-time analysis, twenty statistically significant clusters were identified in the male population and eight in the female population; clusters in men presented a higher number of observed cases and affected municipalities, as well as a higher percentage of municipalities classified as large urban areas. The elevated number of cases detected in clusters of men indicates that the number of MSM-related outbreaks may be higher than reported, showing that spatio-temporal analysis is a complementary, useful tool which may improve the detection of outbreaks in settings where epidemiological investigation may be more challenging. |
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