AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS IN BANGKOK, THAILAND

Residents of a randomly selected sample of households in a low-income housing project in Bangkok were studied between July 1971 and April 1972. Prevalence of hepatitis B antigen (HBS Ag) in July 1971 was 8.2% in 697 persons age one year and older and changed little with age. Prevalence of antibody t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of epidemiology 1975-02, Vol.101 (2), p.144-159
Main Authors: GROSSMAN, RICHARD A., BENENSON, MICHAEL W., SCOTT, ROBERT M., SNITBHAN, RAPIN, TOP, FRANKLIN H., PANTUWATANA, SUNTAREE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Antibodies, Viral - analysis
Australia antigen
biometry
carrier state
Carrier State - immunology
Carrier State - microbiology
Child
Child, Preschool
epidemiology
Female
Hepatitis B - genetics
Hepatitis B - immunology
Hepatitis B - microbiology
Hepatitis B Antigens - isolation & purification
hepatitis virus
Humans
Immunoelectrophoresis
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
Pedigree
Radioimmunoassay
Sex Factors
Thailand
type B
virology
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Summary:Residents of a randomly selected sample of households in a low-income housing project in Bangkok were studied between July 1971 and April 1972. Prevalence of hepatitis B antigen (HBS Ag) in July 1971 was 8.2% in 697 persons age one year and older and changed little with age. Prevalence of antibody to HBS Ag (anti-HBS) was much higher in all age groups and was 46% overall. The prevalence of HBS Ag was higher in males than females from ages 10–29 years and the prevalence of anti-HBS was higher in males up to age 60. The HBV (combined HBS Ag and anti-HBS) age prevalence distribution in July 1971 revealed that over 20% of the children 1–4 years of age had serologic evidence of infection and that the prevalence rose rapidly with age reaching plateau between 60–70% after age 15. During the nine months of serologic surveillance 13% of individuals acquired either HBS Ag or anti-HBS and 7% lost serologic evidence of HBV infection. The study data suggest that most HBS Ag positive persons are long-term antigen carriers, that their numbers and spatial distribution may be sufficient to account for the wide-spread transmission of HBV in this population, that close person-to-person contact with carriers is probably the most important mode of HBV transmission, and that the susceptibility to becoming an HBS Ag carrier is probably genetically determined.
ISSN:0002-9262
1476-6256
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112079