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
Published Open-Access
yes
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
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.
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Digestive System Diseases Commons, Hepatology Commons, Infectious Disease Commons, Internal Medicine Commons, Medical Sciences Commons