Author:
GAY N. J.,HESKETH L. M.,OSBORNE K. P.,FARRINGTON C. P.,MORGAN-CAPNER P.,MILLER E.
Abstract
Cost effectiveness analyses of alternative hepatitis B vaccination
programmes in England and
Wales require a robust estimate of the lifetime risk of carriage. To this
end, we report the
prevalence of infection in 3781 anonymized individuals aged 15–44
years whose sera were
submitted in 1996 to 16 microbiology laboratories in England and Wales.
One hundred and
forty-six individuals (3·9%) were confirmed as anti HBc positive,
including 14 chronic carriers
(0·37%). The prevalence of infection and carriage was higher in
samples collected in London
and increased with age. No increased risk of infection was seen in sera
from genito-urinary
(GUM) clinics. Only 15 sera positive for hepatitis B were also positive
for hepatitis C. Our
results confirm the low prevalence of hepatitis B in England and Wales,
are consistent with
previous estimates of carriage and suggest that many infections were acquired
while resident
outside the UK. Future prevalence studies should determine the country
of birth and other risk
factors for each individual in order to confirm these findings.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Epidemiology
Cited by
37 articles.
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