Vietnamese community screening for hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus

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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2893.2010.01278.x/abstract

Vietnamese community screening for hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus

J. B. Kallman1,2, S. Tran2, A. Arsalla1, D. Haddad1, M. Stepanova1, Y. Fang1, V.

J. Wrobel1, M. Srishord1,2, Z. M. Younossi1Article first published online: 25

FEB 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2010.01278.x

© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Issue

Journal of Viral Hepatitis

Volume 18, Issue 1, pages 70–76, January 2011

Summary.  Asian Americans represent an important cohort at high risk for viral

hepatitis. To determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis

C virus (HCV) infection and HBV vaccination in a Vietnamese community, a total

of 322 Vietnamese subjects from a local doctor’s office and annual Vietnamese

Health Fair were included in this study. Demographic and clinical data were

collected. 2.2% of the screened cohort tested positive for anti-HCV and 9.3%

tested positive for HBsAg. Unlike HBV-positive subjects, HCV-positive subjects

had significantly higher liver enzymes (P = 0.0045 and P = 0.0332,

respectively). The HBV-positive group was more likely to report jaundice (P =

0.0138) and a family history of HBV (P = 0.0115) compared to HBV-negative

subjects. Forty-eight patients (15.5%) reported a family history of liver

disease (HBV, HCV, HCC, cirrhosis, other). Of this 48, 68.8% reported no

personal history of HBV vaccination and 77.1% reported no family history of

vaccination for HBV. Among the 183 subjects without a family history of liver

disease, 156 (85.2%) reported no personal history of vaccination and 168 (91.8%)

reported no family history of vaccination. HBV vaccination rates in those

reporting a family history of liver disease were significantly higher (P =

0.020). There was a high prevalence of HBV infection in this community

screening. Nevertheless, the rate for HBV vaccination was low. The low

prevalence of abnormal liver enzymes in HBV-positive subjects emphasizes the

need for screening to be triggered by risk factors and not by abnormal liver

enzymes.