Seroprevalence of viral hepatitis in Tanzanian adults

In a cross‐sectional study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we determined the seroprevalence of markers for hepatitis A, B, C and E viruses and examined associated risk markers. Among 403 healthy adults, the seroprevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus was 99.0% (95% confidence interval: 97.5–99.7)....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tropical medicine & international health 1998-09, Vol.3 (9), p.757-763
Main Authors: MILLER, W. C, SHAO, J. F, WEAVER, D. J, SHIMOKURA, G. H, PAUL, D. A, LALLINGER, G. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Africa
Age Distribution
Biological and medical sciences
Biomarkers - blood
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
hepatitis A
hepatitis B
hepatitis C
hepatitis E
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - epidemiology
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - immunology
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - prevention & control
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - virology
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Logistic Models
Male
Medical sciences
Population Surveillance
Predictive Value of Tests
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Seroepidemiologic Studies
seroprevalence
Sex Distribution
Socioeconomic Factors
Tanzania
Tanzania - epidemiology
Tropical medicine
Viral diseases
Viral hepatitis
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Summary:In a cross‐sectional study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we determined the seroprevalence of markers for hepatitis A, B, C and E viruses and examined associated risk markers. Among 403 healthy adults, the seroprevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus was 99.0% (95% confidence interval: 97.5–99.7). Prior exposure to hepatitis C and E viruses was rare (hepatitis C: 0.7% (0.2–2.1); hepatitis E: 0.2% (< 0.1–1.4)). The prevalence of all markers of hepatitis B was 70.7% (66.0–75.1). Hepatitis B surface antigen was identified in 6.0% (3.9–8.7) of subjects. Independent predictors of hepatitis B infection identified by logistic regression included older age, male gender, Muslim religion and type of abode. Given the high prevalence of hepatitis B and the low prevalence of hepatitis C, the majority of chronic viral hepatitis is likely to be associated with hepatitis B. Control efforts should focus primarily on hepatitis B.
ISSN:1360-2276
1365-3156
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-3156.1998.00289.x