The auther studied the carrier rate of hepatitis B virus among Vietnamese refugees in Japan. 2428 subjects were investigated (male: female=1587: 841, Age range was between 9 month and 86 years of age). 316 of 2428 (13%) subjects were HBsAg positive. The positive rate of HBsAg in male and female is 243/1587 (15.3%) and 73/841 (8.8%), respectively. The positive rate of HBsAg in the group between 10 and 19 years of age (19.9%) is much higher than that in the group between 0 and 9 years (11%). It is speculated that intravenous drug using, prostitution, unsanitary medical care and bloodtransfusion without adequate screening test may cause transmission of HBV in addition to that between mother and child. In conclusion, this result may suggest that the prevalent rate of hepatitis B in Vietnam is about 13% in general population. © 1993, The Japan Society of Hepatology. All rights reserved.

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male female major clinical study Viet Nam disease carrier adult Hepatitis B virus Article human epidemiology