|
Study finds majority of cases are foreign-born residents. By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- As many as 2.2 million peoplein the United States may be infected with chronic hepatitis Bvirus, a new study suggests. Most of those infected come from countries in Asia and Africa,where regular vaccination for the virus has not been routine,researchers report. "Hepatitis B is a common infection transmitted at birth or in earlychildhood. When it's transmitted at that young an age, it tends toremain a chronic infection," said Dr. John Ward, director of theviral hepatitis program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control andPrevention and co-author of an editorial accompanying the study. The populations who have the infection are diverse, he said. "Thisillustrates the difficulty we have in developing preventionprograms that take into account cultural and language differences,"Ward noted. In the United States, infants started being vaccinated for thevirus in the early 1990s and the rate of vaccination is now over 90percent, Ward explained. So, the rate of the infection among thoseborn in the United States has dropped significantly, he said. It is only in the last 10 years that efforts have been under way tovaccinate infants in other countries against hepatitis B, Wardadded. Many people with the virus are not aware that they are infected andrun the risk of giving it to others and becoming sick themselves,he added. There are effective treatments available using antiviral medicines.Often, these drugs have to be taken for an extended time, but whensuccessful, the damage to the liver can be reversed, Ward said."It's a very effective treatment," he pointed out. If untreated, people can develop liver cancer, which is thethird-leading cause of death around the world, Ward said. People who come to the United States from areas where hepatitis Bis common should be tested for the virus so they can receivetreatment, he suggested. The report will be published in the July print issue of the journal Hepatology . Hepatitis B affects as many as 400 million people around the world.If left untreated, up to 25 percent of those infected are at riskof dying from liver cancer or liver disease. In 2006, the CDC estimated that some 800,000 to 1.4 million peoplein the United States had the virus. For this study, a research team led by Dr. Carol Brosgart, a memberof the faculty at the division of global health at the Universityof California, San Francisco, and senior advisor on science andpolicy to the Viral Hepatitis Action Coalition at the CDCFoundation, looked at all the medical literature on the prevalenceof hepatitis B around the world from 1980 to 2010. That analysis revealed that in 2009, between 1.04 million and 1.61million people born abroad who were living in the United States hadchronic hepatitis B. Those infected came mostly from Asia, Africa and Central America,accounting for 58 percent, 11 percent and 7 percent of cases,respectively, which is much higher than previously thought, theresearchers noted. "This study highlights an important health concern for the U.S. andthe need for broader hepatitis B screening of foreign-bornindividuals," Brosgart said in a statement. "Given our ability totreat chronic hepatitis B virus and to monitor for emergence ofliver cancer when it is treatable, physicians should screen theforeign-born, their children and close contacts." Another expert, Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicineat NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, added that "we havean epidemic of hepatitis B around the world and we have to be alertto it in people who move here from other countries." In addition, its prevalence in the United States has beenunderestimated, as this study confirms, he said. It's easy to get the virus, which is usually transmitted sexuallyor through contact with infected blood or among injection drugusers, he said. The epidemic of hepatitis B has led to an epidemic of liver canceraround the world, Siegel added. More information For more on hepatitis B, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine . SOURCES:John Ward, M.D., director, viral hepatitis program, U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;Marc Siegel, M.D.,associate professor, medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New YorkCity;July 2012, Hepatology Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. I am an expert from wellmedlab.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Non Woven Dressing , Medical Diagnostic Tool Manufacturer, Gauze Dressings,and more.
Related Articles -
Non Woven Dressing, Medical Diagnostic Tool Manufacturer,
|
