Prevalence of hepatitis B virus in a sample of healthy children in Madrid

: In order to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers, we studied 375 healthy children, 242 males and 113 females, with age ranged between 6 to 14 years, from different schools at the Tetuan district (Madrid). We sent a questionnaire to the parents to investigate the presence of risk factor in the children and/or their parents. All children were screened for hepatitis B markers in serum. Our results shown the existence of HBV markers in 22 (5.9%) children. No major incidence of risk factors was found in the children with serologic evidence of HBV infection.