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Hepatitis B and hepatitis C among institutionalized psychiatric patients in Taiwan
Author(s) -
Chang TingTsung,
Lin Huang,
Yen YiShiu,
Wu HuaLin
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.1890400216
Subject(s) - hbsag , medicine , population , hepatitis c , seroprevalence , hepatitis c virus , hepatitis , blood transfusion , hepatitis b virus , hepatitis b , immunology , virology , antibody , serology , virus , environmental health
To investigate the seroprevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti‐HCV) in a psychiatric institution in Taiwan, where hepatitis B virus (HBV) is hyperendemic, a total of 780 patients with psychiatric disorders were studied. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used for testing HBsAg and anti‐HCV. The prevalence of HBsAg was higher than that of anti‐HCV among these patients (18.1% vs. 6.8%, P < 0.0001). The HBsAg carrier rate in these patients was consistent with that of the general population, with a trend for HBsAg carrier rate to be lower in the aged and in females. In contrast, the prevalence of anti‐HCV was higher in these patients than in general population. Anti‐HCV positivity was found more frequently in patients who had received blood transfusion previously (24% vs. 6.4%, P < 0.05). The majority (92%) of patients with positive anti‐HCV did not have a history of apparent parenteral exposure. The prevalence of anti‐HCV increased significantly with duration of the psychiatric disorder. The prevalence of anti‐HCV also tended to increase with duration of hospitalization but without reaching statistical significance. These findings suggest that these institutionalized psychiatric patients contract hepatitis B, as does the general population in Taiwan, and they should be considered as a specific risk group for hepatitis C infection. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.