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. 2006 Nov 14:6:163.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-6-163.

Serologic indices of hepatitis B virus infection in military recruits in Greece (2004-2005)

Vasilios German  1 , Georgios Giannakos, Petros Kopterides, Konstantinos Liaskonis, Matthew E Falagas
Affiliations

Serologic indices of hepatitis B virus infection in military recruits in Greece (2004-2005)

Vasilios German et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Greece has been decreasing over the last decades. However, recent epidemiological data are lacking.

Methods: We studied 1,840 Army recruits from 05/2004 until 10/2005, and performed serological testing for HBsAg, anti-HBsAg, and anti-HBcAg. We also examined their association with several factors, including age, residential area, socioeconomic class, and educational level.

Results: Mean age (+/- SD) of the recruits was 20.5 (+/- 2.1) years. Antibodies to HBV core antigen [anti-HBcAg (+)] were found in 31 (1.68%) of 1,840 participants. Only 6 (0.32%) were HBsAg (+)/anti-HBsAg (-)/anti-HBcAg (+), while 21 (1.14%) were HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (+)/anti-HBcAg (+), and 4 (0.22%) were HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (-)/anti-HBcAg (+). Overall, 1,144 recruits (62.17%) had antibodies against HBsAg [HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (+)/anti-HBcAg (-)]; 665 recruits (36.14%) had undetectable anti-HBsAg levels. Multivariable analysis showed that younger age (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.82-0.92) and advanced educational level (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.32-1.93) were independently associated with serologic evidence suggestive of previous HBV vaccination.

Conclusion: We document a further decline of the prevalence of chronic HBV infection among Greek military recruits, a fact that may support the effectiveness of the ongoing immunization programme.

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Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of anti-HbsAg (+) in correlation with recruits' age.
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