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KMID : 0338420010160030153
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The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine
2001 Volume.16 No. 3 p.153 ~ p.159
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Seroepidemiology of HBV infection in South Korea, 1995 through 1999
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Myoung Kuk Jang/Myoung Kuk Jang
Ja Young Lee/Jin Heon Lee/Yong Bum Kim/Hak Yang Kim/Myung Seok Lee/Choong Kee Park/Jae Young Yoo
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Abstract
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Background : We analyzed serologic data that were obtained from the Korea Association of Health from 1995 to 1999 to estimate the reliable prevalence of HBV in South Korea.
Methods : 603,375, 639,465, 621,476, 612,705 and 650,398 serum samples were annually tested for HBsAg. Of HBsAg positive persons whose serum samples were available, HBeAg positivity was checked.
Results : HBsAg positivities among subjects between 6 and 19 years old were 8.2%, 3.9%, 2.1%, 2.6% and 1.3%. HBsAg positivities among subjects above 20 years old were 8.9%, 6.4%, 5.9%, 5.4% and 5.4%. The positive rates of HBeAg were 39.8 to 62.9% among subjects between 6 and 19 years old, and 18.3 to 37.9% among persons above 20 years old, in each year. In both subgroups, HBsAg positivity in the latter year was significantly lower than that in the former year (p<0.001). It also showed that HBsAg positivities among subjects between 6 and 19 years old have been significantly lower than those among subjects above 20 years old, but those of HBeAg the exact reverse of HBsAg since 1996 (p<0.001).
Conclusions : It was observed that prevalence of HBV infection in the late 1990s, especially in the group between 6 and 19 years old, was conspicuously lower than that in the past. The nationwide vaccination programme might be one of the most important contributors to this tendency in Korea.
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KEYWORD
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epidemiology, hepatitis B virus, Korea, vaccination,
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