Prevalence of hepatitis B infection among the primitive tribes of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

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dc.contributor.authorMurhekar, M Ven_US
dc.contributor.authorMurhekar, K Men_US
dc.contributor.authorDas, Den_US
dc.contributor.authorArankalle, V Aen_US
dc.contributor.authorSehgal, S Cen_US
dc.date.accessioned2000-06-02en_US
dc.date.accessioned2009-05-27T06:43:08Z
dc.date.available2000-06-02en_US
dc.date.available2009-05-27T06:43:08Z
dc.date.issued2000-06-02en_US
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is the home of six primitive tribes. No information is available on the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among them. Hence a study was undertaken with the objective of assessing the sero-prevalence of HBV infection among the four accessible tribes of these islands. METHODS: A total of 1266 serum samples were collected from four tribes i.e., Nicobarese, Shompens, Onges and Great Andamanese and tested for the presence of HBsAg and anti-HBs. Information about different risk factors associated with HBV infection was also collected from the Nicobarese tribe. RESULTS: The overall seropositivity rate of HBsAg among the Nicobarese was 23.3 per cent (95% C.I. 21.0-25.9). Hepatitis B was also found to be an important health problem among the Shompens and Onges with HBsAg positivity of 37.8 and 31.0 per cent respectively. The age-wise distribution of these serological markers among Nicobarese tribe indicate that the infection is very common in all the age groups. The sero-prevalence was also found to be very high among the children. CONCLUSIONS & INTERPRETATION: The findings of the present study indicate that hepatitis B infection is hyper endemic among the primitive tribes of these islands. Though none of the risk factors studied in the Nicobarese was found to be significantly associated with HBV infection, the fact that almost 20 per cent of the women in the reproductive age group were positive for HBsAg indicates the possibility of vertical transmission among the Nicobarese. Further studies are required to find out other modes of transmission.en_US
dc.description.affiliationRegional Medical Research Centre (ICMR), Port Blair.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMurhekar MV, Murhekar KM, Das D, Arankalle VA, Sehgal SC. Prevalence of hepatitis B infection among the primitive tribes of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2000 Jun; 111(): 199-203en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/17595
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.source.urihttps://icmr.nic.in/ijmr/ijmr.htmen_US
dc.subject.meshAdolescenten_US
dc.subject.meshAdulten_US
dc.subject.meshAgeden_US
dc.subject.meshAged, 80 and overen_US
dc.subject.meshChilden_US
dc.subject.meshChild, Preschoolen_US
dc.subject.meshContinental Population Groupsen_US
dc.subject.meshHepatitis B --ethnologyen_US
dc.subject.meshHumansen_US
dc.subject.meshIndia --epidemiologyen_US
dc.subject.meshMiddle Ageden_US
dc.subject.meshOceanic Ancestry Group --statistics & numerical dataen_US
dc.subject.meshPrevalenceen_US
dc.titlePrevalence of hepatitis B infection among the primitive tribes of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.en_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dc.typeResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'ten_US
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