Abstract

Malaysia is a country with an intermediate endemicity for hepatitis B. As the country moves toward hepatitis B and C elimination, population-based estimates are necessary to understand the burden of hepatitis B and C for evidence-based policy-making. Hence, this study aims to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B and C in Malaysia. A total of 1458 participants were randomly selected from The Malaysian Cohort (TMC) aged 35 to 70 years between 2006 and 2012. All blood samples were tested for hepatitis B and C markers including hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc), antibodies against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV). Those reactive for hepatitis C were further tested for HCV RNA genotyping. The sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities were used to evaluate their associated risk factors. Descriptive analysis and multivariable analysis were done using Stata 14. From the samples tested, 4% were positive for HBsAg (95% CI 2.7–4.7), 20% were positive for anti-HBc (95% CI 17.6–21.9) and 0.3% were positive for anti-HCV (95% CI 0.1–0.7). Two of the five participants who were reactive for anti-HCV had the HCV genotype 1a and 3a. The seroprevalence of HBV and HCV infection in Malaysia is low and intermediate, respectively. This population-based study could facilitate the planning and evaluation of the hepatitis B and C control program in Malaysia.

Details

Title
Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infection among Malaysian population
Author
Muhamad Nor Asiah 1 ; Melati, AbGhani Rimah 1 ; Abdul Mutalip Mohd Hatta 2 ; Muhammad Eida Nurhadzira 2 ; Hasmah, Mohamad Haris 2 ; Mohd Zain Rozainanee 3 ; Noraidatulakma, Abdullah 4 ; Muhammad Azami Nor Azila 4 ; Nazihah, Abd Jalal 4 ; Ismail Norliza 4 ; Mhd Yusuf Nurul Ain 4 ; Othman Raihannah 4 ; Kamalul Arifin Azwa Shawani 4 ; Abdullah Mohd Shaharom 4 ; Kamaruddin Mohd Arman 4 ; Abu Hassan Muhammad Radzi 5 ; Tahir, Aris 6 ; Rahman, Jamal 4 

 Ministry of Health Malaysia, Evidence-Based Healthcare Sector, National Institutes of Health, Shah Alam, Malaysia (GRID:grid.415759.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 0690 5255); Ministry of Health Malaysia, Center for Communicable Diseases Epidemiology Research, Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Shah Alam, Malaysia (GRID:grid.415759.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 0690 5255) 
 Ministry of Health Malaysia, Center for Communicable Diseases Epidemiology Research, Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Shah Alam, Malaysia (GRID:grid.415759.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 0690 5255) 
 Ministry of Health Malaysia, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health, Shah Alam, Malaysia (GRID:grid.415759.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 0690 5255) 
 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (GRID:grid.412113.4) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 1557) 
 Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar, Malaysia (GRID:grid.452819.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 0411 5999) 
 Ministry of Health Malaysia, Center for Communicable Diseases Epidemiology Research, Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Shah Alam, Malaysia (GRID:grid.415759.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 0690 5255); Ministry of Health Malaysia, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health, Shah Alam, Malaysia (GRID:grid.415759.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 0690 5255) 
Publication year
2020
Publication date
2020
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2473289978
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.