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MEDICINE AND SOCIET Y
Hepatitis-B Virus Seropositivity among Adults attending a
Primary Care Clinic in Jordan
Hussein H. Dmour
Amal S. AL-Tahieneh
Adnan Zayadeen
Correspondence:
Dr. Hussein H. Dmour
Family Medicine Department, Royal Medical Services,
Amman, Jordan
Mobile number: 0777777679.
Email: dmour_hussein@yahoo.com
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study
was to estimate the hepatitis-B
virus (HBV) carrier frequency
among adults attending a primary
care clinic in Jordan.
Methods: This study was performed
from January 2005 to April
2006. Three hundred patients
aged 35-55 years, female:male
173:127 attending a primary care
clinic were chosen randomly by
simple random method and studied
by detailed history, thorough
physical examination, and serum
HBs Ag was tested. Abdominal
ultrasound, liver function tests
and hepatitis profile were done
for those with positive HBs Ag
screening tests. Screening tests
also were carried out on family
members of those patients with
positive tests.
Results: HBs Ag was positive in
10 patients (3.3%) who came from
a low socioeconomic class. Three
of them (30%) had mild elevation
of liver enzymes but all had
normal abdominal ultrasound and
negative tests for other types of
hepatitis. HBs Ag was detected
among 8 family members of 6
infected patients.
Conclusion: It is concluded that
the HBV seropositivity rate (3.3%)
among adults attending a primary
care clinic is low in comparison to
the average previously recorded
rate (10%) in Jordan. Screening
test is not necessary, but a
hepatitis B vaccine program and
health education should be
considered.
Key words: Hepatitis B, Adults,
Carrier, Primary care clinic
Introduction
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection
is an important cause of
chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and
hepatocellular carcinoma.
Although the reported rate of HBV
has declined in the U.S.A by over
50% since 1987 (1), “probably as a
result of vaccination programmes,
behavioral changes, refinements in
blood screening procedures, and
availability of virus inactivated blood
components”, it remains high in the
Western Pacific and South East
Asia (2) .The prevalence of HBV
carriage in the Middle East has been
reported to vary from 5-18% (3, 4).
In some regions, rates of less than
5% have been reported (5, 6), while
parts of Saudi Arabia and Egypt
have rates as high as 28% and 20%,
respectively. (7)
The distribution of HBV in the Middle
East is characterized by considerable
variability in carrier rates, according
to geographical areas and the
community sampled (8, 9, 10).
Patients and Method
Three hundred patients who attended
the primary care clinic at Marca
Medical Center in Jordan were
studied during the years January
2005-April 2006 after obtaining
their consent. They were chosen
randomly through simple random
method. A detailed history was taken
from each including socioeconomic
status, family members, personal
history of jaundice, blood transfusion,
injections, sexual contact, history of
jaundice or hepatitis among family
members, dental procedures and
travel abroad.
Complete and thorough examination
was done for each patient and a
sample of blood for hepatitis B
surface antigen was sent to King
Hussein Medical Center laboratory
(both the haemoagglutination and the
Elisa tests were used), liver function
MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL OF FAMILY MEDICINE VOLUME 10 ISSUE 6
MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL OF FAMILY MEDICINE • VOLUME 7, ISSUE 10 41