OBJECTIVETo understand the epidemiological features of viral hepatitis, and provide scientific evidence for developing strategies for prevention and control.

METHODSThrough descriptive epidemiological methodology, the epidemiological characteristics of 1121 viral hepatitis cases in Chongwen District (1997-2006) were studied. chi2-test was used in ratio comparison.

RESULTSThere were 1121 viral hepatitis cases occurring in the past decade, and the incidence rate was declining by year with the average of 27.10/ 100,000. Of which, the incidence rate of viral hepatitis B was the highest (13.90/ 100,000), viral hepatitis C (1.38/100,000) was the lowest. The proportion of viral hepatitis B was the highest (575, 51.29%) and viral hepatitis C (57, 5.08%) was the lowest. The incidence of viral hepatitis A, B and no-typing was declining year by year, while viral hepatitis C and E was climbing. Most viral hepatitis A and E cases occurred in Spring and Winter, and the difference of incidence rate between male and female was observed (chi2 = 188.39, P < 0.001). The findings also showed that viral hepatitis might occur in all kind of occupation, but most were workers (306, 27.3%) and officers (209, 18.64%). For the age distribution, 20 -49 years old group took the majority (749, 66.82%); and for the transmission route, blood transfusion (7.64/ 100,000) was significantly higher than fecal-oral route (3.02/ 100,000) (chi2 = 5.09, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIt is necessary to raise and increase the public awareness for viral hepatitis prevention and control, and enhance immunization. Moreover, effective measures should be taken to the safety of blood and blood products, and to prevent nosocomial infection.

Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Hepatitis A ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Hepatitis B ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Hepatitis C ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged

Communicable Disease Control ; methods ; trends ; Disease Eradication ; organization & administration ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Public Health ; Singapore ; epidemiology

Currently, Korea is a low endemicity country for HAV, especially in children. However, recent reports of hepatitis A outbreaks show that there has been a shift of disease incidence to adolescents and young adults, with 2 cases of acute liver failure in one reported outbreak. We need to study the immune status for HAV in order to provide information for the establishment of preventive measures and possible consequences of HAV in Korea. A total of 334 infants, children and adolescents less than 20 years of age living in rural areas of Kyonggi Province, Korea were evaluated for anti-HAV immune status in 1996. Five hundred and eighty-four primary school children living in the same area were separately evaluated for the natural seroconversion rate between 1993 and follow-up samples taken in 1996. Anti-HAV IgG antibody was measured by enzyme immunoassay (HAVAB EIA kit, Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois, USA). In comparison with previous reports of seroprevalence rates, our data confirmed a dramatic drop in seroprevalence rates among children and adolescents under 20 years of age living in rural areas, from over 63.8% two decades ago to 4.6% in 1996. Natural acquisition of HAV antibody in primary school children rarely occurs, registering only 0.5% during three years. Several outbreaks in young adults during 1996-1998 suggested that immunity against HAV in this population is so low that massive outbreaks are unavoidable. Teenagers and young adults, especially soldiers, who are likely to be exposed to contaminated food or water, would also have a greater risk of hepatitis A. Immunizing children with HAV vaccine as a routine schedule should also be considered in Korea in the future, particularly if the disease burden could be estimated and the cost-effectiveness of the vaccine could be proved.
Adolescence ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hepatitis A/prevention & control* ; Hepatitis A/epidemiology* ; Hepatitis A Vaccines ; Human ; Immunization* ; Infant ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence ; Sex Distribution ; Viral Hepatitis Vaccines/therapeutic use*

Alcoholism ; complications ; China ; Congresses as Topic ; Fatty Liver ; diagnosis ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic ; epidemiology ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Metabolic Syndrome ; Risk Factors

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.
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

Occupational hepatic disorders are classified into toxic hepatitis, viral hepatitis, and chemical-induced malignancy in Korea. Toxic hepatitis cases were reported in workers who were exposed to dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, or trichloroethylene. Pre-placement medical examination and regular follow-up are necessary to prevent the development of toxic hepatitis. Viral hepatitis was chiefly reported among health care workers such as doctors, nurses and clinical pathology technicians who could easily be exposed to blood. Preventive measures for these groups therefore include vaccination and serum monitoring programs. Hepatic angiosarcoma caused by vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) exposure is a very well known occupational disease and it has not been officially reported in Korea yet. Some cases of hepatocellular carcinoma were legally approved for compensation as an occupational disease largely by overwork and stress, but not supported by enough scientific evidence. Effort to find the evidence of its causal relationship is needed.
Adult ; Drug-Induced Liver Injury/epidemiology ; Female ; Health Personnel ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human/epidemiology/prevention & control ; Humans ; Liver Diseases/*epidemiology/prevention & control ; Liver Neoplasms/chemically induced/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases/*chemically induced/*epidemiology/prevention & control ; Occupational Exposure/adverse effects ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Young Adult

This study examined the change of reported incidence rate for viral hepatitis in Hubei province, China, between 2004 to 2010 to provide scientific evidence for viral hepatitis control. Reported viral hepatitis infection cases were queried from Centre for Disease Control of Hubei Province, China. The incidence of viral hepatitis A decreased steadily across the study period. Viral hepatitis B composed 85% of the viral hepatitis cases. When reported incidence rates for chronic hepatitis B increased, the rates of acute and unclassified cases dropped from 2005 to 2010. The reported viral hepatitis B incidence rate for males was around 1.5-2 times higher than for females. The average annual percentage change of reported viral hepatitis B incidence rates was 4%. The same index for viral hepatitis C was 28%. The reported viral hepatitis B incidence rate of people under 20 years old declined over the period. This decrease was mainly attributed to the recent implementation of vaccination plan. Reported incidence rate of viral hepatitis E also rose in those years. Having a better understanding on reported incidence rates of the present surveillance system is important for developing strategies for further prevention of viral hepatitis. In addition, the data showed that a surveillance system that differentiates new and former infected cases will be more effective in providing evidence for disease control.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Mass Vaccination ; trends ; utilization ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Sex Distribution ; Viral Hepatitis Vaccines ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult