Decline of hepatitis B infection in Greece

Hepatitis B has long been a serious public health problem in Greece. In rec ent years, a decline in hepatitis B infection is observed ascribable to man y factors such as demographic and socioeconomic changes, medical precaution s, use of disposable medical equipments, screening of blood donors and vacc ination. We studied the prevalence of HBV infection in a sample of 1050 Gre ek male Navy recruits. 343 subjects (32.6%) had previously been vaccinated and were anti-HBs positive. We observed that during the last decade, the pr evalence of immunes declined to 1.33% and the prevalence of any HBV marker declined to 2.28%. The HBsAg carrier rate declined from 3.9% in 1973 to 0.9 % in 1986. Since then, it is stable at 0.95% because perinatal and vertical transmissions are still responsible for the majority of HBV chronic infect ions. Universal prenatal screening and infant immunization will contribute to a further decline of HBV infection.