ArticleBMJ open2021
Village-to-village screening for hepatitis B and C using quantitative HBsAg and anti-HCV testing with reflex HCV core antigen tests in the remote communities of a resource-rich setting: a population-based prospective cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Point-of-Care Model for Hepatitis C Elimination in Remote Islands of Taiwan.The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences · 2025Article
- Prevalence-based screening by anti-HCV reflex HCV antigen test and accessible post-screening care towards elimination of hepatitis C in rural villages.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Article
- The Pre-/Post-Transplant Hepatitis C Antibody Associated with the IL-28B RS8099917 TT Genotype and miRNA-122 Expression May Protect Acute Cellular Rejection After LDLT.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- Article
- Liver Disease Screening and Hepatitis C Virus Elimination in Taiwan Rural Indigenous Townships: Village-By-Village Screening and Linking to Outreach Hepatology Care.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesCommunity-based screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) is essential for hepatitis elimination. This study attempted to increase screening accessibility and efficacy by using alternative tools.
designPopulation-based prospective cohort study.
settingHepatitis elimination program at Yunlin County, Taiwan.
participantsAll 4552 individuals participated in 60 screening sessions of a community-based HBV and HCV screening project in five rural townships with approximately 95 000 inhabitants in central-western Taiwan.
interventionsTo increase accessibility, 60 outreach screening sessions were conducted in 41 disseminative sites. Quantitative HBV surface antigen (qHBsAg) and anti-HCV testing with reflex HCV core antigen (HCV Ag) tests were employed as alternative screening tools.
main outcome measuresCalculate village-specific prevalence of HBsAg, anti-HCV and HCV Ag and establish patient allocation strategies according to levels of qHBsAg HCV Ag and alanine aminotransferase (ALT).
resultsOf 4552 participants, 553, 697 and 290 were positive for HBsAg, anti-HCV and HCV Ag, respectively; 75 of them had both HBsAg and anti-HCV positivity. The average (range) number of participants in each screening session was 98 (31-150). The prevalence rates (range) of HBsAg, anti-HCV and HCV Ag were 12.1% (4.3%-19.4%), 15.3% (2.6%-52.3%) and 6.4% (0%-30.2%), respectively. The HCV Ag positivity rate among anti-HCV-positive participants was 42% (0%-100%). Using cut-off values of >200 IU/mL for qHBsAg, >3 fmol/L for HCV Ag and >40 IU/mL for ALT as criteria for patient referral, we noted an 80.2% reduction in referral burden. Three villages had high anti-HCV prevalences of 52.3%, 53.8% and 63.4% with corresponding viraemic prevalences of 23.2%, 30.1% and 22% and thus constituted newly identified HCV-hyperendemic villages.
conclusionOutreach hepatitis screening increases accessibility for residents in rural communities. Screening HBV and HCV through qHBsAg and HCV Ag tests provides information concerning viral activities, which might be conducive to precise patient allocation in remote communities.
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