Hepatitis B trends

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   Source:  Family Practice News, May 1, 2002 v32 i9 p23(1).
                                                                              
    Title:  Hepatitis B trends. (Clinical Capsules).(Brief Article)
                                                                              
Subjects:  Hepatitis B - Demographic aspects
            Prevalence studies (Epidemiology) - Analysis
Locations:  United States
SIC code:  8730
                                                                              
Electronic Collection:  A86203874
                   RN:  A86203874
                                                                              

Full Text COPYRIGHT 2002 International Medical News Group

Between 1982 and 1998, acute hepatitis B cases declined by 76% in the United States, reported Dr. Susan T. Goldstein of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and her colleagues.

The highest incidence in the four-county surveillance area was 13.8 cases per 100,000 in 1987; by 1998, there were 3.3 cases per 100,000. The greatest decline (91%) occurred in cases associated with injection drug use, they said (J. Infect. Dis. 185[6]:713-19, 2002). Cases associated with male homosexual sex, injection drug use, and heterosexual sex also declined over the study period, but other studies suggest that the decrease of acute hepatitis B cases was associated with a temporary decline in high-risk sexual practices in the wake of the AIDS epidemic.

A notable finding was that 56% of patients with hepatitis B reported having
been treated for a sexually transmitted disease or having been in prison or
jail before their illness, which suggests that a substantial number of cases
might be prevented by routine immunization in those setting.
                                                                              
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