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. 2001 Sep;16(3):153-9.
doi: 10.3904/kjim.2001.16.3.153.

Seroepidemiology of HBV infection in South Korea, 1995 through 1999

M K Jang  1 , J Y Lee, J H Lee, Y B Kim, H Y Kim, M S Lee, C K Park, J Y Yoo
Affiliations

Seroepidemiology of HBV infection in South Korea, 1995 through 1999

M K Jang et al. Korean J Intern Med. 2001 Sep.

Abstract

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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Figures

Figure 1A, B.
Figure 1A, B.
The changes of HBsAg (A) and HBeAg (B) seroprevalences among groups between 6 and 19 years old and above 20 years old are demonstrated. The positive rate of HBsAg in more recent years was lower than that in the past in both subgroups (*; p<0.001), except for that among subjects above 20 years old in 1999 (; p=0.83), and that among those between 6 and 19 years old in 1998. The positive rates of HBeAg among subjects between 6 and 19 years old were always higher than those among persons above 20 years old since 1996(; p=0.34, § ; p<0.001).
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