Establishing contemporary trends in hepatitis B sero-epidemiology in an Indigenous population.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Indigenous populations globally are disproportionately affected by chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection however contemporary sero-prevalence data are often absent. In the Indigenous population of the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia the unique C4 sub-genotype of HBV universally circulates. There are no studies of the sero-prevalence, nor the impact of the vaccination program (which has a serotype mismatch compared to C4), at a population-wide level.

Methods

We examined all available HBV serology results obtained from the three main laboratories serving NT residents between 1991 and 2011. Data were linked with a NT government database to determine Indigenous status and the most recent test results for each individual were extracted as a cross-sectional dat

SUBMITTER: Davies J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5590876 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature