Familial clustering of hepatitis B and C viruses in Korea.
10.3346/jkms.1994.9.6.444
- Author:
Young Sik KIM
1
;
Yoon Ok AHN
;
Dae Won KIM
Author Information
1. Department of Family Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Comparative Study ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
Familial clustering;
Hepatitis B virus;
Hepatitis C virus;
Risk factor
- MeSH:
Acupuncture Therapy/adverse effects;
Adolescent;
Adult;
Aged;
Biological Markers;
Blood Transfusion/adverse effects;
Carrier State;
Child;
Child, Preschool;
Cluster Analysis;
Comorbidity;
Comparative Study;
Contact Tracing;
*Family Health;
Female;
Hepatitis B/*epidemiology/prevention & control/transmission/virology;
Hepatitis B Antibodies/blood;
Hepatitis B Core Antigens/blood;
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/blood;
Hepatitis C/*epidemiology/prevention & control/transmission/virology;
Human;
Infant;
Korea/epidemiology;
Male;
Middle Age;
Postoperative Complications/epidemiology;
Prevalence;
Risk Factors;
Seroepidemiologic Studies;
Sexually Transmitted Diseases/epidemiology;
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't;
Viral Hepatitis Vaccines
- From:Journal of Korean Medical Science
1994;9(6):444-449
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
In order to evaluate the familial clustering of hepatitis B virus(HBV) and hepatitis C virus(HCV) infections and to elucidate the possible routes of HCV transmission among Korean adults with chronic liver disease, 137 household contacts of 51 chronic carriers of HBsAg and 111 household contacts of 38 controls, and 181 household contacts of 96 anti-HCV positives and 102 household contacts of 76 anti-HCV negatives were tested from July 1990 to March 1994. Of 71 non-vaccinated household contacts of HBsAg carriers, 10 gave positive result for HBsAg(14.1%), but none of the household contacts of the controls were positive for HBsAg(p< 0.05). Familial clustering of HBV infection was found, when the offspring of carriers and controls were compared. A significantly higher percentage of the offspring of carriers were positive for HBV infection(54.6% vs 15.4%, p< 0.05) with OR of 6.6(95% Cl; 1.3-34.5). No evidence of familial clustering of HCV infection was found with 2.2%(4/181) anti-HCV positivity among the household contacts of index cases, similar to 1.0%(1/102) among those of controls. History of acute hepatitis(OR 3.2), transfusion(OR 3.2), and acupuncture(OR 2.5) were associated with an increased risk of HCV infection. In conclusion, HBV has strong familial clustering whereas HCV does not in Korea.
