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Case-reporting of acute hepatitis B and C among injection drug users

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Abstract

Although public health surveillance system data are widely used to describe the epidemiology of communicable disease, occurrence of hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV, respectively) infections may be misrepresented by under-reporting in injection drug users (IDUs). This study was carried out to examine the relationship between HBV and HCV incidence and case-reporting of hepatitis B and C in Seattle IDUs. Names of participants in a Seattle IDU cohort study who acquired HBV or HCV infection over a 12-month follow-up period were compared to a database of persons with acute bepatitis B and C reported to the bealth department surveillance unit over the same period. Of 2,208 IDUs enrolled in the cohort who completed a follow-up visit, 63/759 acquired HBV infection, 53/317 acquired HCV infection, and 3 subjects acquired both HBV and HCV. Of 113 cohort subjects who acquired HBV or HCV, only 2 (1.5%) cases were reported; both bad acute bepatitis B. The upper 95% confidence limit for case-reporting of bepatitis C in the cohort was 5.7%, and for hepatitis B, it was 7.5%. In this study, reporting of acute bepatitis in IDUs was extremely low, raising questions regarding the use of community surveillance data to estimate underlying incidence in that population group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, National Development and Research Institutes, 71 West 23rd Street, 10010, New York, NY

    Holly Hagan PhD (Deputy Director)

  2. Public Health-Seattle and King County, Seattle, Washington

    Holly Hagan PhD (Deputy Director),  Nadine Snyder,  Eillen Hough,  Tianji Yu,  Shelly McKeirnan,  Janice Boase &  Jeffrey Duchin

  3. University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

    Holly Hagan PhD (Deputy Director) &  Jeffrey Duchin

Authors
  1. Holly Hagan PhD
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  2. Nadine Snyder
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  3. Eillen Hough
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  4. Tianji Yu
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  5. Shelly McKeirnan
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  6. Janice Boase
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  7. Jeffrey Duchin
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Correspondence to Holly Hagan PhD.

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Hagan, H., Snyder, N., Hough, E. et al. Case-reporting of acute hepatitis B and C among injection drug users. J Urban Health 79, 579–585 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/79.4.579

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/79.4.579

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