Proportion of People Who Are Positive for HBsAg and Anti-HCV Antibody Among Participants in a Community Screening Campaign in Malaysia

Abstract

Background: The epidemiology of Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) remains poorly documented in Malaysia. Available statistics are based on data from mostly small studies in special populations. Objectives: In this study, we provide estimates of the proportion of people who are positive for HBs Antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV antibody (Ab) among participants in a community screening campaign. Methods: A total of 10,914 subjects participated in the hepatitis screening campaign organized by Hepatitis Free Pahang in 2018 and 2019. A low-cost point-of-care test, which has previously been validated, was used to screen for HBsAg and anti-HCV Ab. All screened positive subjects were recalled to undergo confirmatory serologic tests (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and nucleic acid tests (Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction. Results: We estimated that 1.17% of adults aged 20 or older who participated in the screening campaign were positive for HBsAg+, and only 0.71 percent were positive for anti-HCV Ab+. Young adults below 30 years of age had a very low proportion of HBsAg+ (0.09%). Women had a lower proportion of HBsAg+ and HCV- Ab+, Chinese had the highest proportion of HBsAg+, while Malay had the highest proportion of anti-HCV Ab+. Conclusions: Among adult participants of screening in Malaysia, chronic HBV is still common, especially among older and Chinese people. Adults with positive anti-HCV Abs are much less common.