Hepatitis B and HIV/AIDS in Zagreb: A district level analysis

This study examines the presence of hepatitis B as a possible precursor mar ker for HIV/AIDS in 10 districts of Zagreb, Croatia. There were a total of 931 cases of hepatitis B in Zagreb in the period 1979-1995, the annual rate ranging from 3.1 to 15.4 per 10,000. The highest relative risk for hepatit is B for the 1979-1995 period was in the Pescenica district (Relative risk (RR): 1.4). There were 108 cases of HIV/AIDS diagnosed in Croatia in the pe riod 1986-1996, with 34% from Zagreb. The highest relative risk for HIV/AID S was within the Pescenica district (RR: 2.3). Pescenica had also a signifi cantly higher incidence of hepatitis B when compared to other districts (p = 0.005). The cumulative incidence of hepatitis B in Zagreb was directly re lated to levels of neighborhood discomfort as determined by an index includ ing unemployment, inflation and housing conditions (p = 0.005). This resear ch demonstrates that the poor areas of the city with higher incidence of he patitis B hold the greatest threat for the spread of HIV/AIDS.