Sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge and prevalence of viral hepatitis infection among Vietnamese Americans at community screenings.

Few studies have investigated the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and C virus (HCV) infection among Vietnamese Americans (VAs). The purpose of this paper is to assess the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection, identify the sociodemographic characteristics of the HBV infected population and the level of HBV knowledge among VAs in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan areas with data from a health fair in 2011. A total of 617 VAs received serological testing for HBV and HCV, and 329 completed a survey of HBV knowledge assessment. About 9% were infected with HBV and 5% with HCV. Vietnamese Americans younger than 30 years had the highest HBV prevalence (13.1%) followed by those age 41-50 years (12.1%). The prevalence of HCV infection was particularly higher among those older than 70 years old (13.9%). Misunderstanding HBV as a food-borne disease is prevalent among VAs. Efforts to develop public health screening and education programs targeting this population are warranted.