Prevalence of Chronic Hepatitis B in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea

Authors

Alice Unah Lee
Luke Mair
Bob Kevin
Lily Gandi
Olive Tarumuri
Caroline Lee
Sue Huntley
David Carl Hilmers

Language

English

Publication Date

1-1-2020

Journal

Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal

DOI

10.5365/wpsar.2020.11.3.001

PMID

34046236

PMCID

PMC8152820

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

12-16-2020

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-Print

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) affects over 250 million people worldwide. In Papua New Guinea, the prevalence of CHB has been estimated to be over 8%, and it is a leading cause of death. To address this problem, an alliance was formed between the government of Oro Province, a large private employer and an Australian nongovernmental organization, which established a CHB test and treatment programme. Between 2014 and 2019, rapid hepatitis B surface antigen testing was performed on 4068 individuals in Oro Province. The crude prevalence rate was 12.98% and was significantly higher in males (15.26%) than females (10.94%) (P < 0.001). The rate was 4.72% among children aged 10 years and under, 12.81% among women of childbearing age (19–35 years) and 18.48% among health-care workers. These results indicate that the rates of vaccination at birth and later among women of childbearing age and health-care workers must be improved to prevent transmission of CHB.

Keywords

Adolescent, Adult, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Hepatitis B Surface Antigens, Hepatitis B, Chronic, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Middle Aged, Papua New Guinea, Prevalence, Young Adult

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Lee, Alice Unah; Mair, Luke; Kevin, Bob; et al., "Prevalence of Chronic Hepatitis B in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea" (2020). Faculty and Staff Publications. 1511.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/1511