title: Using automated extraction of hepatitis B tests for surveillance: evidence of decreasing incidence of acute hepatitis B in England.
abstract: Surveillance of acute hepatitis B in England is necessary to estimate incidence, determine routes of transmission and inform public health actions. Here we describe an automated process to extract information on testing for markers of hepatitis B infection in English sentinel laboratories between 2002 and 2008. The resulting data were used to identify individuals with acute infections, describe their characteristics and estimate the incidence of infection. Two-thirds of acute infections were in males. Heterosexual exposure and injecting drug use were the main risks reported. Annual incidence was estimated at 1.3/100 000 person-years overall (1.7 and 0.6 for males and females, respectively) and declined each year. Automated extraction of hepatitis B markers, including quantitative results where available, can help to classify HBV status more accurately for surveillance. HBV incidence in England is at its lowest level in recent years.
authors: Health Protection Agency, Centre for Infections, Colindale, London, UK.
authors: L J
authors: LJ
authors: Brant
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Hurrelle
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Collins
authors: P E
authors: PE
authors: Klapper
authors: M E
authors: ME
authors: Ramsay
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D007075:Immunoglobulin M