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Viral Hepatitis

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Refugee Health Care

Abstract

Refugees have been born in, or have lived in, regions highly endemic for the various viral hepatitides compared to the developed countries where they relocate. National guidelines for medical screening and vaccination, including guidelines for viral hepatitis in newly arrived refugees to the United States are developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (CDC/DGMQ) and issued by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Domestic Medical Screening Guidelines Checklist. Routine screening for Hepatitis B is recommended for all refugees. While Hepatitis C screening is not routinely recommended, the cost benefit of screening refugees from high prevalence countries is suggested. Screening for Hepatitis A and E is not needed for newly arrived refugees. This chapter reviews these screening guidelines as well as characteristics of the different viral hepatitides, serology testing, and vaccination recommendations for refugees.

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Correspondence to Douglas J. Pryce M.D. .

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Pryce, D.J., Madhar, A.M.J. (2014). Viral Hepatitis. In: Annamalai, A. (eds) Refugee Health Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0271-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0271-2_7

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