Queen Marys University of London, Barts and The London School of Medicine, The Liver Unit, 4 Newark Street, London, UK.
J Viral Hepat. 2010 May;17(5):327-35. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2009.01240.x. Epub 2009 Dec 9.
The prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in immigrant communities is unknown. Immigrants from south Asia are common in England and elsewhere, and the burden of viral hepatitis in these communities is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence of viral hepatitis in immigrants from south Asia living in England, and we therefore undertook a community-based testing project in such people at five sites in England. A total of 4998 people attending community centres were screened for viral hepatitis using oral fluid testing. The overall prevalence of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) in people of south Asian origin was 1.6% but varied by country of birth being 0.4%, 0.2%, 0.6% and 2.7% in people of this ethnic group born in the UK, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively. The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen was 1.2%-0.2%, 0.1%, 1.5% and 1.8% in people of this ethnic group born in the UK, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively. Analysis of risk factors for HCV infection shows that people from the Pakistani Punjab and those who have immigrated recently are at increased risk of infection. Our study suggests that migrants from Pakistan are at highest risk of viral hepatitis, with those from India at low risk. As prevalence varies both by country and region of origin and over time, the prevalence in migrant communities living in western countries cannot be easily predicted from studies in the country of origin.
移民群体中的乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎流行情况尚不清楚。南亚移民在英国和其他国家很常见，但这些社区的病毒性肝炎负担尚不清楚。我们旨在确定居住在英国的南亚移民中病毒性肝炎的流行情况，因此在英格兰的五个地点开展了针对这些人群的社区为基础的检测项目。共有 4998 名在社区中心的人接受了口腔液检测，以筛查病毒性肝炎。南亚裔人群中抗丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV) 的总体流行率为 1.6%，但因出生地而异，在英国、印度、孟加拉国和巴基斯坦出生的该族裔人群的流行率分别为 0.4%、0.2%、0.6%和 2.7%。乙型肝炎表面抗原的流行率在英国、印度、孟加拉国和巴基斯坦出生的该族裔人群中分别为 1.2%-0.2%、0.1%、1.5%和 1.8%。对 HCV 感染危险因素的分析表明，来自巴基斯坦旁遮普省的人和最近移民的人感染风险增加。我们的研究表明，来自巴基斯坦的移民感染病毒性肝炎的风险最高，而来自印度的移民感染风险较低。由于流行率因国家和原籍地区而异，且随时间推移而变化，因此不能简单地根据原籍国的研究来预测西方国家移民社区的流行率。
