A total of 3522 samples of serum, collected anonymously from women attending an antenatal clinic, was tested for hepatitis B surface antigen and antibody to hepatitis C. The prevalence of anti-HCV was low; only five confirmed positives were found (0·14%). The prevalence of hepatitis B overall was 0·56%, but was 1·04% in women from immigrant groups. Hepatitis B carriage is therefore four times more common than hepatitis C carriage in the antenatal population comprised of various ethnic origins. The patterns of infection in the two viruses are reversed, hepatitis B being more common in Asian, S.E. Asian and West Indian mothers and hepatitis C being more common in mothers of white Caucasian origin. Routine antenatal screening for anti-HCV is discussed. © 1994, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.
CITATION STYLE
Boxall, E., Skidmore, S., Evans, C., & Nightingale, S. (1994). The prevalence of hepatitis B and C in an antenatal population of various ethnic origins. Epidemiology and Infection, 113(3), 523–528. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268800068539
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