CLEAN-LIVING in Hong Kong has weakened immunity to Hepatitis A and put young people at a much higher risk of catching the disease than their parents, liver specialist Dr Lai Ching-lung warned yesterday .
Three studies carried out by Dr Lai at Hong Kong University in 1978, 1987 and last year saw the level of immunity to Hepatitis A in younger age groups drop dramatically.
''Paradoxically, this is probably the result of cleaner home environments, good government programmes for sanitation and awareness of proper food preparation,'' Dr Lai said.
The results of the most recent study show that 97 per cent of one to 10-year-olds in Hong Kong are not protected against Hepatitis A through previous exposure.
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious viral infection of the liver which is transmitted by eating or drinking contaminated water or uncooked food.
Symptoms are flu-like and in a small number of cases it is fatal.
