Viral hepatitis in Danish children. Disappearance of an infection from its previous reservoir.

Two hundred and eighty-five healthy Danish children aged between 7 and 17 years were studied for hepatitis B antigen and antibodies to hepatitis A and B. A positive response to each of these infections was found in 0.7% of them. During a 5-year period 40 children were admitted to hospital with viral hepatitis, 30 of whom had hepatitis A. Eighty-three per cent of these cases of hepatitis A were secondary to adult cases, or had resulted from foreign travel. Hepatitis A is no longer endemic in Danish children, and morbidity from hepatitis B or non-A non-B is negligible.