National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xuanwu District, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
PLoS One. 2009 Dec 24;4(12):e8467. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008467.
Viral hepatitis is a serious health burden worldwide. To date, few reports have addressed the prevalence of hepatitis A, B, C, and E in China. Therefore, the general epidemiological parameters of viral hepatitis remain unknown.
In this cross-sectional study, we performed a serological prevalence analysis of viral hepatitis A, B, C, and E in 8,762 randomly selected Chinese subjects, which represented six areas of China. The overall prevalence of anti-Hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) was 0.58%, which was much lower than was estimated by WHO. The prevalences of Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-Hepatitis B virus surface protein antibody (HBsAb), and anti-Hepatitis B virus core protein antibody (HBcAb) were 5.84%, 41.31%, and 35.92%, respectively, whereas in the group of subjects less than 5 years old, these prevalences were 1.16%, 46.77%, and 8.69% respectively, which suggests that the Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-carrier population is decreasing, and the nationwide HBV vaccine program has contributed to the lowered HBV prevalence in the younger generation in China. Meanwhile, a large deficit remains in coverage provided by the national HBV immune program. In addition, our data suggested the possibility that HBsAb may not last long enough to protect people from HBV infection throughout life. The overall prevalence of anti-Hepatitis A virus antibody (anti-HAV) and anti-Hepatitis E virus antibody (anti-HEV) were as high as 72.87% and 17.66%, respectively. The indices increased with age, which suggests that a large proportion of Chinese adults are protected by latent infection. Furthermore, the pattern of HEV infection was significantly different among ethnic groups in China.
Our study provided much important information concerning hepatitis A, B, C, and E prevalence in China and will contribute to worldwide oversight of viral hepatitis.
病毒性肝炎是全球范围内严重的健康负担。迄今为止，关于中国甲型、乙型、丙型和戊型肝炎的流行情况，报告较少。因此，病毒性肝炎的一般流行病学参数仍不清楚。
在这项横断面研究中，我们对来自中国六个地区的 8762 名随机选择的中国受试者进行了甲型、乙型、丙型和戊型肝炎病毒血清流行率分析。抗丙型肝炎病毒抗体（抗-HCV）的总体流行率为 0.58%，远低于世界卫生组织的估计。乙型肝炎病毒表面抗原（HBsAg）、乙型肝炎病毒表面蛋白抗体（HBsAb）和乙型肝炎病毒核心蛋白抗体（HBcAb）的流行率分别为 5.84%、41.31%和 35.92%，而在 5 岁以下的受试者中，这些流行率分别为 1.16%、46.77%和 8.69%，这表明乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）携带者人群正在减少，全国乙型肝炎疫苗接种计划有助于降低中国年轻一代的 HBV 流行率。同时，全国乙型肝炎免疫规划提供的覆盖率仍然存在很大差距。此外，我们的数据表明，HBsAb 可能无法持续足够长的时间来保护人们免受 HBV 感染。抗甲型肝炎病毒抗体（抗-HAV）和抗戊型肝炎病毒抗体（抗-HEV）的总体流行率分别高达 72.87%和 17.66%。这些指数随年龄增长而增加，这表明中国成年人中有很大一部分人通过潜伏感染得到了保护。此外，戊型肝炎病毒在中国不同民族中的感染模式有显著差异。
我们的研究提供了有关中国甲型、乙型、丙型和戊型肝炎流行情况的重要信息，并将有助于全球对病毒性肝炎的监测。
