INCIDENCE AND RELATIVE RISK FOR HEPATITIS-A, HEPATITIS-B AND TUBERCULOSIS AND OCCURRENCE OF MALARIA AMONG MERCHANT SEAMEN

The purpose of the study was to assess the incidence and relative risk of hepatitis A and B and tuberculosis among Danish merchant seamen, W e also assessed the occurrence of malaria, The study was based on reco rd linkage of a research database containing data on 24,132 Danish mal e seamen and the Registry for Notifiable Infectious Diseases in Denmar k, supplemented by data from other sources. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for hepatitis A for male seamen was 1.77 (0.91-3.10) as c ompared with the incidence in the general population. The incidence wa s 0.9 notified cases/10,000 gears, The SIR for hepatitis B for male se amen was 3.02 (1.79-4.78), the main risk factors being intravenous dru g use and casual sex abroad, Tuberculosis was not more common among se amen than in non-seamen, The results have implications for vaccination strategies in this occupational group, Malaria occurred frequently in the seamen, especially among those involved in West African trade. Ir regular use of malaria prophylaxis and probably chloroquine resistance were of importance in some cases. To detect further cases of hepatiti s A and B and malaria, other sources were reviewed. Only a few extra c ases were identified, The registry of notifiable infectious diseases w as thus found to be rather complete.