Viral hepatitis and the drug cult: a brief socio-epidemiological study in Sydney.
Study of 141 individuals attending a Sydney drug referral centre revealed considerable psychosocial maladjustment in the group. Seventy-five per cent showed serological evidence of hepatitis B virus infection, past or present, as compared with 13% of control subjects. Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen was found to be twice as frequent as a serological marker of HBV infection, as antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen. Prevalence rates of antibody to hepatitis A virus were similar in the drug and control groups. Hepatitis possibly due to hepatitis non A non B virus infection, was found in 14% of those with clinical and biochemical hepatitis at the time of the study.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D044465:White People; D000095283:Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens