Immigration and hepatitis B virus: epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects.

This study in Italy aimed to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a population of recent (< 6 months) immigrants. Between February 2003 and December 2004, 83 (9.3%) out of 890 immigrants tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen. All were men and 62.6% came-from Africa, 21.6% from Asia and 16.8% from Eastern Europe. About half (54.3%) of the patients had elevated alanine aminotransferase levels and detectable serum HBV DNA. Genotype distribution was as follows: E (20 cases), D (14 cases) and A (11 cases). Our study underscores the potential of migratory flow to introduce genotype non-D hepatitis B virus into our country.