Serological markers of Hepatitis B and C among juvenile immigrants from Albania settled in Greece

Abstract

Background: Greece is a place of settlement for a large number of immigrants, particularly from Albania, which constitute special community groups for public health policies. Objectives: This study was designed to assess the seroprevalence of serological markers for Hepatitis B and C among juvenile immigrants from Albania settled in Greece. Methods: The study population included 504 subjects, 418 males and 86 females, aged 10–23 years old who have emigrated from Albania to Pogoniani-Greece and participated voluntarily in vaccination programmes against Hepatitis B. The serum samples were examined with enzyme immune assays for the immunological markers HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HBs and anti-HCV. HBsAg positive samples were further tested for IgM anti-HBc, HBeAg and anti-HBe. Results: Among the examined subjects, 40.5% were found positive for anti-HBc, indicating an HBV contamination. Specifically, 11.7% were carriers of HBsAg, whereas 28.8% were negative for HBsAg but positive for anti-HBc. Only 6.5% was positive exclusively for anti-HBs. The rest (53.0%) presented no positive serological markers. Among the HBsAg positive patients, 8.5% were found positive for HBeAg, while 5.1% was positive for IgM anti-HBc. Finally, only 0.6% of the sample presented antibodies against HCV.

Conclusion: The examined migratory population is described by a high prevalence of Hepatitis B. Therefore, specific public health measures are necessary. However, no data was found that indicate potential public health dangers regarding hepatitis C.