Prevalence and risk factors of HBsAg in Gaza: implications for prevention and control.

The Epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was not precisely known in Gaza. This study investigated the prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and simulated the incidence of HBV infection from reported cases of acute hepatitis due to HBV. Blood samples from 810 randomly selected individuals from the general population and from 17,060 blood donors were tested for HBsAg. The prevalence of HBsAg was found to be 3.5% in the general population and 3.8% in blood donors. The simulation model revealed the incidence of HBV infection decreased between 1990 and 1999 from 233 to 56 per 100,000 per annum. The decline started in 1994 and continued afterwards, presumably after the introduction of universal vaccination against HBV and screening blood donors for HBV. However, the authors discuss additional measures to control the transmission of HBV among non-vaccinated cohorts. Copyright 2002 The British Infection Society.