Acute hepatitis B infection in aboriginal Australians.
The apparent incidence of acute hepatitis B infection in the Top End of the Northern Territory was estimated from notification data and hospital data to be 12 per 100,000 per year, with a marked difference between Aborigines (42 per 100,000) and non-Aborigines (4 per 100,000), and an odds ratio of 9.7 (95 per cent confidence intervals 3 to 33). Sixty percent of Aboriginal cases of acute hepatitis B occurred in children under 10 years of age, whereas non-Aboriginal cases occurred in adults aged 20 to 29, most with behavioural risk factors. These findings confirm the importance of immunising Aboriginal children to reduce the future incidence of hepatitis B infection and hepatoma.
Wan
X
X
Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Casuarina, NT.
Currie
B
B
Miller
N
N
Mathews
J D
JD
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D015876:Northern Territory / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors