ACUTE HEPATITIS-B INFECTION IN ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS

The apparent incidence of acute hepatitis B infection in the Top End of the Northern Territory was estimated from notification data and hospital data to be 12 per 100 000 per year, with a marked difference between Aborigines (42 per 100 000) and non-Aborigines (4 per 100 000), and an odds ratio of 9.7 (95 per cent confidence intervals 3 to 33). Sixty percent of Aboriginal cases of acute hepatitis B occurred in children under 10 years of age, whereas non-Aboriginal cases occurred in adults aged 20 to 29, most with behavioural risk factors. These findings confirm the importance of immunising Aboriginal children to reduce the future incidence of hepatitis B infection and hepatoma.