VIRAL-HEPATITIS IN THE BHUTANESE POPULATION - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS OF A SEROEPIDEMIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION

A seroepidemiological study of the prevalence of markers related to th e most common forms of viral hepatitis was carried out in Bhutan on 1, 666 healthy people of both sexes, from the general population. A group of 440 pregnant women were screened separately. Our results suggest t hat in Bhutan, hepatitis A and hepatitis B are widespread, while there is a low prevalence of hepatitis C and E. Anti-HAV (anti-hepatitis A virus) was found in all 171 tested subjects over 12 years of age, and anti-HBc (anti-hepatitis B core antigen) in 63.1% of 1,666 tested peop le. On the other hand, anti-HEV proved positive in 2.0% of 257 tested subjects, and anti-HCV in only 1.3% of 611 tested subjects. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was found in 5.9% of the sample from the gen eral population (5.2% in children, 5.6% in young people and 6.3% in ad ults) and in 5.4% of the pregnant women. Furthermore, 29.1% of HBsAg-p ositive pregnant women were HBeAg- and HBV DNA-positive, too. Comparin g the pregnant women's prevalence data to those found in children, we suggest that the main route of HBV transmission in the Bhutanese popul ation is vertical, from mother to child; this finding is important for the implementation of a correct anti-HBV vaccination strategy in Bhut an.