I. Katsarou¹, E. Tsimara¹, G. Kefalonitis¹, D. Botoni¹,
D. Kalofonos¹, I. Zelenitsas²

¹General Hospital Zakynthos
²Euroclinic Athens, Greece

Hepatitis B is considered a global health problem. Australian antigen (HBsAg) is one of the HBV infection indices. The risk of HBV infection is relatively low in developed countries as only 0.2–0.9% of the population is carriers of the virus. The prevalence of the disease fluctuates considerably, according to the geographic region and the level of Health Service provided. Our aim is to compare the prevalence of HBV between local residents and foreigners on the island of Zakynthos.

Material–Method: We studied 3050 samples (from the records of the Hematological Department in the General Hospital of Zakynthos), trying to detect HBsAg (+) residents (blood donors, hospitalized patients, work or residence permit applicants, pregnant women, employees in the health care system).

Results: This sample is representative of the island’s population (6.77% – 45,000 residents). The population of foreigners comes up to approximately 15,000 people. 2217 out of 3050 samples coming from Greek subjects (7.39% of the population), 34 of whom are serum-positive (1.53%). 843 out of 3050 samples come from foreigners who live on the island (5.62% of the population), 73 of whom are serum-positive (8.36%).

Conclusion: The prevalence of HBV in Zakynthos is up to 1.53% for Greek population and 8.36% for foreign population. In previous decades HBV carriers reached a percentage of 4.5–5.5% of the total population in Greece, while in the last decade there was a reduction of this percentage to 1.5–2.0% which classifies Greece among countries with low endemic of the disease.

This is thanks to proper education of the population, better sanitary conditions and implementation of vaccination policies. It is vital that foreigners are informed and subject to blood tests so that both carriers and those in need of vaccination can be detected.