[The risk of becoming infected with hepatitis B and C viruses in the pupils of children's boarding schools].

The risk of contamination of 487 inmates of 5 boarding schools at northwestern Ukraine with hepatitis B (HB) and hepatitis C (HC) viruses was analyzed and the role of some factors facilitating the spread of these infections among the inmates of such schools was shown. In 28.3 +/- 2.2% of the inmates the presence of HB markers was detected, while these markers occurred only in 7.2 +/- 1.9% of children attending open schools. During the survey of the child population the presence of HB markers was detected in 8.0 +/- 1.1%, which was significantly lower than among the inmates of boarding schools (p < 0.001). Among such markers, HBsAg was detected in 8.3 +/- 0.5% of the inmates and in 1.6 +/- 0.5% of other children living in the area. Among inmates with CNS pathology the sum of markers was significantly higher than in inmates without such pathology (52.9 +/- 3.8%). The occurrence of the markers was shown to depend on the duration of staying in a boarding school and on the presence of the source of infection in the collective. Anti-HCV were detected in 1.4 +2- 0.6% of the inmates of boarding schools and in 0.5 +/- 0.3% of the whole child population.