This study determined the prevalence of total hepatitis A antibody (anti-HAV) among 5–7 years old children and their mothers in the whole Cambodia, using a nationwide study, and examined the differences between the two cohorts. A total of 4535 dried blood spot-driven (DBS) samples (2021 mothers and their 2514 children of 5–7 years old) and the concomitant 922 whole blood samples (subset of the whole participants) were collected using a multistage random sampling strategy throughout Cambodia in 2017. Total anti-HAV was detected using the chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay method. Compared to gold standard whole blood samples, the sensitivity and specificity of DBS mediated anti-HAV detection were 94.8% and 98%, respectively. Total anti-HAV prevalence among mothers was 91.2% (95%CI: 90.0–92.5%), and that of their children was 31.5% (95%CI: 29.7–33.3%). In our study, the low prevalence of total anti-HAV among children indicates the country’s improvement of safe water and food supply, hygiene and sanitation. If the hygiene and sanitation are consistently improved in Cambodia, the prevalence might be no longer increased when the children become adults.

本研究使用一项全国性研究，确定了整个柬埔寨 5-7 岁儿童及其母亲的甲型肝炎总抗体 (anti-HAV) 流行率，并检查了两个队列之间的差异。在整个过程中使用多阶段随机抽样策略收集了总共 4535 份干血斑驱动 (DBS) 样本（2021 名母亲及其 2514 名 5-7 岁儿童）和伴随的 922 份全血样本（全体参与者的子集）。 2017 年柬埔寨。使用化学发光酶免疫法检测总抗 HAV。与金标准全血样本相比，DBS 介导的抗 HAV 检测的灵敏度和特异性分别为 94.8% 和 98%。母亲的抗 HAV 总流行率为 91.2%（95%CI：90.0-92.5%），其子女为 31.5%（95%CI：29.7-33. 3%）。在我们的研究中，儿童中抗 HAV 总感染率较低表明该国在安全饮水和食品供应、个人卫生和环境卫生方面有所改善。如果柬埔寨的个人卫生和环境卫生得到持续改善，那么当儿童长大成人时，流行率可能不再增加。