Epidemiology of hepatitis B virus in non-institutionalized children and adolescents affected by handicap

The aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers in a population of non-institutionalized handicapped 1-19-year-old patients. Thirty-six out of 70 patients lived in southern Italy and 19 were affected by Down's syndrome. Only three (4.2%) were positive for anti-HBc (one of these also for anti-HBs) and none for HBsAg. Low prevalence seems to indicate that no particular anti-HBV vaccination strategy is to be considered on this subset of population and on their contacts. Serum prevalence of HBV among nurses and other members of personnel was 11.3%.