Anna Not, Hakima Ouaarab-Essadek, Marcos Montoro, Begoña Treviño, María Buti, Rosa M. Morillas, Antoni E. Bordoy, Cinta Folch, Xavier Majó, Jordi Casabona, Jordi Gómez i Prat, Elisa Martró
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background and Aims
Migrants from endemic areas are key populations for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection screening in Europe. This study assessed the feasibility and outcomes of a community action that combined education, screening, and simplified access to care for migrants in Barcelona.
Methods
Adult migrants from Pakistan, Romania, and Senegal were included from 2021 to 2023, through a community action involving education, an epidemiological questionnaire, and rapid testing for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and HCV antibodies. If positive, DBS samples were collected for laboratory confirmation. Viremic cases were referred to an International Health Unit (IHU).
Results
Overall, 786 participants were included (346 from Pakistan, 304 from Senegal and 136 from Romania). Previous screening for HBV and HCV was 8.0% and 7.7%, respectively. HBsAg prevalence was 0.9% for migrants from Pakistan, 8.2% for those from Senegal and 1.4% for those from Romania (n = 30/786, 23 new diagnoses). Among these, 69.6% attended the IHU and were HBV-DNA positive, but none met treatment criteria. Anti-HCV prevalence was 3.5%, 0.7% and 1.4% for migrants from Pakistan, Senegal and Romania, respectively (n = 16/768, 12 new diagnoses), and HCV-RNA prevalence was 0.9%, 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively (N = 6, all new diagnoses); 4 (66.6%) cases were linked to treatment and two were cured.
Conclusions
This novel community action successfully reached migrants in a situation of vulnerability and provided them access to testing and care. The high prevalence observed and the limited self-knowledge of their HBV and HCV status justify targeted screening in these groups.
期刊介绍：
Liver International promotes all aspects of the science of hepatology from basic research to applied clinical studies. Providing an international forum for the publication of high-quality original research in hepatology, it is an essential resource for everyone working on normal and abnormal structure and function in the liver and its constituent cells, including clinicians and basic scientists involved in the multi-disciplinary field of hepatology. The journal welcomes articles from all fields of hepatology, which may be published as original articles, brief definitive reports, reviews, mini-reviews, images in hepatology and letters to the Editor.
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