Keiko Katayama1, Tomoki Sato1, Son Huy Do1, Hiroko Yamada1, Ayako Tabuchi2, Yutaka Komiya3, Junko Matsuo1, Ayumu Nakashima4, Masayuki Ohisa1, Tomoyuki Akita1, Noriaki Yorioka5, Yuzo Miyakawa6, Hiroshi Yoshizawa7, Junko Tanaka1. 1. Departments of Epidemiology, Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Integrated Health Sciences, Tokyo, Japan. 2. Hiroshima Infectious Disease, Disease Control Center, Tokyo, Japan. 3. Yukuhashi Clinic, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Japan. 4. Department of Molecular and Internal Medicine, Applied Life Sciences, Hiroshima University Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Tokyo, Japan. 5. General Incorporated Association Hiroshima Kidney Organization, Tokyo, Japan. 6. Miyakawa Memorial Research Foundation, Tokyo, Japan. 7. Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract
AIM: A survey of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in hemodialysis (HD) patients was conducted to determine the burden and risk of infection and to suggest preventive measures against HBV infection among HD patients at nine hospitals in Hiroshima, Japan, from 1999 to 2003. METHODS: HBV markers were investigated for 1860 HD patients. The prevalence, incidence of HBV and prevalence of occult HBV were calculated. RESULTS: The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was 2.6%, the positive rate of anti-hepatitis B core (HBc) was 20.6% and that of anti-hepatitis B surface (HBs) was 11.7%. Among 1372 patients who started HD after the approval of erythropoietin in Japan in 1991, the prevalence of HBsAg was 2.1%. The incidence rate of HBsAg positivity was 0/1000 person-years and the incidence of anti-HBc was 0.3/1000 person-years. Among 1812 HBsAg negative patients HBV DNA was detected in two: one case was negative for anti-HBc and anti-HBs, and the other was only positive for anti-HBc. Prevalence of occult HBV was 0.11%. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of HBV was much lower than that of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the same cohort. We supposed that the discrepancy between incidence rate of HBV and that of HCV was caused by the difference of their carrier rates and of their characteristics for persistent infection. So, we concluded that it is prerequisite to grasp the burden of HBV carriers in the group to prevent new HBV infections in HD patients.
AIM: A survey of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in hemodialysis (HD) patients was conducted to determine the burden and risk of infection and to suggest preventive measures against HBV infection among HDpatients at nine hospitals in Hiroshima, Japan, from 1999 to 2003. METHODS:HBV markers were investigated for 1860 HDpatients. The prevalence, incidence of HBV and prevalence of occult HBV were calculated. RESULTS: The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was 2.6%, the positive rate of anti-hepatitis B core (HBc) was 20.6% and that of anti-hepatitis B surface (HBs) was 11.7%. Among 1372 patients who started HD after the approval of erythropoietin in Japan in 1991, the prevalence of HBsAg was 2.1%. The incidence rate of HBsAg positivity was 0/1000 person-years and the incidence of anti-HBc was 0.3/1000 person-years. Among 1812 HBsAg negative patientsHBV DNA was detected in two: one case was negative for anti-HBc and anti-HBs, and the other was only positive for anti-HBc. Prevalence of occult HBV was 0.11%. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of HBV was much lower than that of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the same cohort. We supposed that the discrepancy between incidence rate of HBV and that of HCV was caused by the difference of their carrier rates and of their characteristics for persistent infection. So, we concluded that it is prerequisite to grasp the burden of HBV carriers in the group to prevent new HBV infections in HDpatients.