A serological survey of selected Papua New Guinea blood donors for hepatitis b and related co-infections
Varpit, Francisca, and Gummow, Bruce (2020) A serological survey of selected Papua New Guinea blood donors for hepatitis b and related co-infections. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 5 (3). 108.
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Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious problem and earlier studies in Papua New Guinea have reported a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection. These studies were undertaken using insensitive tests and before an expanded immunization program. The current HBV status is therefore uncertain. A retrospective study to investigate the HBV status was carried out using blood donor data at Nonga General Hospital, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, from January 2003 to December 2018. Additional data for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, syphilis and hepatitis C virus were also collected. Data were analysed using NCSS statistical software. The mean hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg) sero-prevalence was 21% for the period of study and showed a downward trend over the period of the study, which may reflect the effect of the extended immunization program. HBsAg prevalence in male donors (23%) was significantly higher than females (16%). Donors living in Pomio district had a significantly lower proportion of sero-positive HBsAg donors (7%) than Gazelle (22%), Kokopo (22%) and Rabaul (20%), which was attributed to this district's geographical isolation. Ethnically, Pomios donors (8%) had significantly lower HBsAg prevalence than the Taulils, (29%), Bainings (21%) and Tolais (21%). Fifteen to nineteen year olds (23%) were the predominant age group affected, and vertical or perinatal transmission was probably the primary transmission route. Our findings call for greater awareness on the part of public policy makers and should be considered when planning future public health campaigns.
| Item ID: | 66729 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2414-6366 |
| Keywords: | Blood donors, Co-infections, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Human immunodeficiency virus, Papua New Guinea, Syphilis |
| Copyright Information: | © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open accessarticle distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Apr 2021 03:23 |
| FoR Codes: | 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4202 Epidemiology > 420202 Disease surveillance @ 80% 32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3202 Clinical sciences > 320227 Venereology @ 20% |
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