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Abstract Details
Survey of Asian Patients with Hepatitis B Infection: Limited Knowledge of Transmission and Screening of Family Members
Vijayan T, Zheng P, Nguyen C, Brown AM, Chen YW, Peters MG. J Immigr Minor Health. 2013 Aug 3. [Epub ahead of print]
Source
Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Ave, Room S-380, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0654, USA, tara.vijayan@ucsf.edu.
Abstract
Asian American families are disproportionately affected by Hepatitis B (HBV) infection. We aimed to assess the extent of screening family members of Asian patients with known HBV infection as well as patients' knowledge of HBV disease. A cross-sectional survey of established Asian patients with HBV-infection was performed at a university liver clinic. Outcome measures included the percentage of family members whose HBV serostatus was unknown and the percentage of patients who were able to correctly identify modes of transmission. A total of 803 US-based family members were identified by 58 patients. Patients did not know the HBV serostatus of 50 % of their family members and 28 % of their immediate family members. Fifty percent of participants did not know how they had acquired HBV or stated unlikely transmission modes. Though nationwide vaccination campaigns target this underrepresented population, screening family members of Asian patients with HBV remains a challenge.