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Hepatitis C and B virus infections in populations at low or high risk in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract Inhabitants and patients of two cities in Vietnam were tested for antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti‐HCV), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to HBsAg (anti‐HBs). Anti‐HCV was detected in 43 (9%) of 491 individuals without liver disease in Ho Chi Minh, more frequently (P < 0.001) than in 18 (4%) of 511 in Hanoi. There was no apparent age‐specific distribution of anti‐HCV. Among inhabitants of both cities, HBsAg and anti‐HBs were frequent, detected in 10‐14% and 35‐37%, respectively; the prevalence of anti‐HBs increased in parallel with age. Among individuals at high risk, the prevalence of anti‐HCV was particularly high in drug users (58/67 or 87%) and patients on maintenance haemodialysis (15/28 or 54%) or with haemophilia (7/24 or 29%) in Ho Chi Minh, and in drug users in Hanoi (61/200 or 31%). Prevalence of HBsAg and anti‐HBs in high‐risk groups was not different from those in the general population. Screening of anti‐HCV in blood donors in Vietnam is of urgent necessity because blood supply is dependent on commercial blood donors, many of whom are drug users at high risk.