Publication
Title
Prevalence of HBV and HCV among outpatients in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria, 2010-2011
Author
Abstract
Viral hepatitis, particularly hepatitis B and C, are diseases with worldwide distribution that present a significant public health problem. Seroprevalence studies allow assessment of the extent of the disease burden, the identification of populations at risk and the monitoring trends over time. A multi-center seroprevalence study, carried out in Bulgaria (covering the five largest cities - Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Pleven, and Stara Zagora) in 1999-2000 estimated a crude seroprevalence rate of 3.9% for HBsAg and 1.3% for anti-HCV. A decade later, comparable rates were observed in a study including 865 outpatients consulting a clinical laboratory in Plovdiv, the second largest administrative region in Bulgaria. The crude seroprevalence rate measured for hepatitis B (HBsAg) was 3.9%. The HBsAg prevalence rate in individuals 19 years of age (targeted by vaccination) was significantly lower compared to the rate in adults 20 years of age -1% versus 4.8%. The lack of dynamics in the overall level of HBsAg carriers is likely related to the excessively low hepatitis B vaccine coverage in individuals, born before the introduction of the universal vaccination of newborns in August 1991. Anti-HCV antibodies were detected in 0.7% of the subjects. J. Med. Virol. 87:401-406, 2015. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of medical virology. - New York, N.Y.
Publication
New York, N.Y. : 2015
ISSN
0146-6615
DOI
10.1002/JMV.24065
Volume/pages
87 :3 (2015) , p. 401-406
ISI
000348566300006
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 08.04.2016
Last edited 09.10.2023
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