Institute of Health & Wellbeing, Public Health, University of Glasgow, 1 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8RZ, UK.
Arch Public Health. 2012 Apr 26;70(1):9. doi: 10.1186/0778-7367-70-9.
Hepatitis B and C cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Little is known about the existence of hepatitis B and C among high risk groups of the Pakistani population. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C in high risk groups, their comparison and the possible mode of acquisition by obtaining the history of exposure to known risk factors.
This cross sectional study was carried out in Karachi, from January 2007 to June 2008.HBsAg and Anti HCV screening was carried out in blood samples collected from four vulnerable or at risk groups which included injecting drug users (IDUs), prisoners, security personnel and health care workers (HCWs). Demographic information was recorded and the possible mode of acquisition was assessed by detailed interview. Logistic regression analysis was conducted using the STATA software.
We screened 4202 subjects, of these, 681 individuals were reactive either with hepatitis B or C. One hundred and thirty three (3.17%) were hepatitis B reactive and 548 (13.0%) were diagnosed with hepatitis C. After adjusting for age, security personnel, prisoners and IV drug users were 5, 3 and 6 times more likely to be hepatitis B reactive respectively as compared to the health care workers. IDUs were 46 times more likely to be hepatitis C positive compared with health care workers.
The prevalence of hepatitis B and C was considerably higher in IDUs, prisoners and security personnel compared to HCWs group. Hepatitis C is more prevalent than hepatitis B in all these risk groups. Prevalence of hepatitis C increased with the increase in age. Use of unsterilized syringes, used syringes, body piercing and illicit sexual relations were found to be important associated risk factors for higher prevalence of Hepatitis B and C in these groups.
乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎在全球范围内造成了很大的发病率和死亡率。在巴基斯坦高危人群中，乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎的存在情况知之甚少。本研究旨在确定高危人群中乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎的流行率、比较它们，并通过获得已知危险因素暴露史来确定获得途径。
本横断面研究于 2007 年 1 月至 2008 年 6 月在卡拉奇进行。对来自四个脆弱或高危人群（包括注射吸毒者、囚犯、保安人员和卫生保健工作者）的血液样本进行 HBsAg 和抗 HCV 筛查。记录人口统计学信息，并通过详细访谈评估可能的获得途径。使用 STATA 软件进行逻辑回归分析。
我们筛查了 4202 名受试者，其中 681 名个体对乙型肝炎或丙型肝炎呈反应性。133 人（3.17%）乙型肝炎反应阳性，548 人（13.0%）诊断为丙型肝炎。在调整年龄后，与卫生保健工作者相比，保安人员、囚犯和静脉注射吸毒者分别有 5、3 和 6 倍的可能性乙型肝炎反应阳性。与卫生保健工作者相比，静脉注射吸毒者丙型肝炎阳性的可能性高 46 倍。
与卫生保健工作者相比，静脉注射吸毒者、囚犯和保安人员的乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎流行率明显更高。在所有这些高危人群中，丙型肝炎的流行率均高于乙型肝炎。丙型肝炎的患病率随着年龄的增长而增加。未消毒的注射器、使用过的注射器、身体穿孔和非法性行为被认为是这些人群中乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎高流行率的重要相关危险因素。
