Seroepidemiology of hepatitis B infection among tribal school children in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.
A sero-survey to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection was carried out among the Nicobarese children attending different primary schools of Car Nicobar Island. A total of 1574 children were screened for different serological markers of infection. Overall, 44% of the children had evidence of HBV infection with 23% positive for HBsAg. The prevalence rates were found to increase linearly with age. The implications of these findings in relation to control of hepatitis B in the tribal population of these islands are discussed.
Regional Medical Research Centre, Indian Council of Medical Research, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.
M V
MV
Murhekar
K M
KM
Murhekar
S C
SC
Sehgal
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens