Prevention of hepatitis B in Italy: lessons from surveillance of type-specific acute viral hepatitis

Abstract

The relative contribution of various risk factors to the incidence of acute hepatitis B in Italy was estimated using a special surveillance system (SEIEVA) for type-specific acute viral hepatitis. At present 146 health departments (USLs) which contain 21% of the Italian population participate in SEIEVA out of the total of 650. Data on 2460 hepatitis B cases and 708 hepatitis A cases were compared. Hospitalization, surgical intervention, dental therapy, other percutaneous exposures, barber shop shaving, i.v. drug abuse and household contact with HBsAg carriers were associated with acute hepatitis B and a large number of cases were attributable to these risk factors. Because the control programme based on vaccination will not be effective in the short term at reducing hepatitis B incidence, other additional interventions are recommended.

Risk factors for acute hepatitis B: a case‐control study

“…Subjects undergoing surgical intervention have an almost fourfold increased risk of acquiring HBV. This finding is in agreement with the results of a previous case-control study in which, using as control group hepatitis A cases, an independent association was found to link HBV with surgical intervention [6]. The inclusion in the present study of patients undergoing surgical intervention as control subjects might have led to an underestimation of ORs: the association between cases and surgical intervention was stronger after omitting these control subjects (OR 4.3 instead of 3.8).…”

Compliance with hepatitis B vaccination in 1175 heroin users and risk factors associated with lack of vaccine response

“…1985; Mele et al. 1990a, 1990b). It is preventable by vaccination (Centers for Disease Control 1985, 1987; Ghendon 1990).…”

Body piercing practices and attitudes among urban adolescents

“…Associated health risks include infections, pain, bleeding, hematoma formation, cyst formation, allergic reactions, hypertrophic scarring, and keloid formation [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Staphylococcus aureus is the most reported causative organism in piercing-related infections; it causes a spectrum of infections from local site infections, such as impetigo and cellulitis, to more extensive infections including osteomyelitis, toxic shock syndrome, and bacteremia [11].…”

“…Several studies have shown an association between body piercing and hepatitis B seroconversion [16,17]. In fact, some of the cases of hepatitis B that have been attributed to piercings, particularly those cases noted in the older literature, resulted in fulminant hepatitis and death [15].…”