Hepatitis B risk factors
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]
Overview
Generally, the highest risk for HBV infection is associated with lifestyles, occupations, or environments in which contact with blood from infected persons is frequent. High-risk populations include immigrants/refugees from areas of high HBV endemicity, clients in mental health institutions, injection drug users, and homosexually active men, patients of hemodialysis, and household contacts of HBV carriers. In addition, the prevalence of HBV markers for acute or chronic infection increases with increasing number of years of high-risk behavior. For instance, an estimated 40% of injection-drug users become infected with HBV after 1 year of drug use, while more than 80% are infected after 10 years. Perinatal transmission from mother to infant at birth is very efficient. If the mother is positive for both HBsAg and HBeAg, 70%–90% of infants will become infected in the absence of postexposure prophylaxis.The risk of perinatal transmission is about 10% if the mother is positive only for HBsAg. As many as 90% of these infected infants will become chronically infected with HBV.[1]
Risk Factors
Individuals who are at increased risk of hepatitis B infection include:
- Infants born to infected mothers
- Young children in day-care or residential settings with other children in endemic areas
- Sexual/household contacts of infected persons
- Patients and employees in haemodialysis centres
- Injection drug users sharing unsterile needles
- People sharing unsterile medical or dental equipment
- People providing or receiving acupuncture and/or tattooing with unsterile medical devices
- Persons living in regions or travelling to regions with endemic hepatitis B
- Sexually active heterosexuals
- Men who have sex with men
- Hemophilia patients
- Travel to areas where hepatitis B is common
Frequent and routine exposure to blood or serum is the common denominator of healthcare occupational exposure.[2]
Hepatitis B 2012.http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/hepb.html</ref>
References
- ↑ Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Hepatitis B 2012.http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/hepb.html
- ↑ "Hepatitis B" (PDF).
- ↑ "Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)".