A SEROEPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY ON HEPATITIS B VIRUS, HEPATITIS C VIRUS AND HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS INFECTION IN NORTHERN THAILAND

A total of 1, 889 voluntarily donated blood from five provinces in northern Thailand were investigated for the prevalences of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The average positive rates of HBs-Ag, anti-HBs, IgM anti-HBc, anti-HCV and anti-HIV were 8.7, 42.6, 0.5, 1.6 and 1.7%, respectively. The highest positive rates of HBs-Ag, anti-HBs, IgM anti-HCV and anti-HIV were found in the age group under 19 years (13.3%), 40-49 year old group (47.6%), 20-29 year old group (0.6%), 30-39 year old group (2.6%) and 20-29 year old group (2.9%), respectively. We found only two cases that were anti-HIV and HBs-Ag positive. There are no cases that were anti-HIV and IgM anti-HBc positive, and that were anti-HIV and anti-HCV positive. These results suggest that in northern Thailand, most of the HBV infections are due to vertical transmission from mother to child, although HBV infection is a major cause of viral hepatitis, HCV infection will become an important public health problem in the near future and that the prevalence of HIV infection is quite high among sexually active generations. Therefore, there is a need for more medical attention to these blood-borne virus diseases, and we strongly recommend routine blood screening for HCV in every medical institutions in northern Thailand.