Serological survey of hepatitis B in Shihe River district of Xinyang city

Objective The study was conducted to serologically investigate the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in Shihe River district of Xinyang city in Henan province. Methods A multi-stage randomized sampling survey was conducted in accordance with the National Manual for Serological Investigation of Hepatitis B and Other Related Diseases, involving two administrative villages from two townships. Apart from the questionnaire surveys on major risk factors, intravenous blood samples were collected for HBV serological detection in the national CDC.(4 ml for each person older than 2, 2ml for each older than 12 months and before age 2). Results A total of 36 hepatitis B surface antigen-positive cases were detected from 547 investigated subjects including 275 men, 272 women, the positive rate being 6.58%; 390 surface antibody-positive cases were detected, the positive rate being 71.30%; and 207 core antibody positive cases were found, the positive rate being 37.84%. There were 208 hepatitis B virus infected people, the infection rate being 38.02%; the standardized positive rates were 7.98%, 60.73%, 42.95%, 42.94%, respectively. There was no statistical significance on HBsAg and anti-HBc levels between men and women, although the difference on anti-HBc and HBV infections between both presented statistical significance. Conclusion The HBV infection rate in Shihe River district of Xinyang city has declined from 72.62%(post-standardized) in 1992 to 42.94%(post-standardized), the HBsAg standardized rate from 11.04% to 7.98%, indicating the contributing effect of promoted hepatitis B vaccination.