Relationship between tuberculin reactivity and hepatitis B virus infection in the Northwest Territories

Of 370 NWT Inuit or Dene who were HBsAg-positive, only 31 had HBeAg. Persons who were PPD negative were 6.2 times more likely to be HBeAg-positive than those who were PPD positive, but this inverse association applied only to those 30 years of age. We further analyzed a group of 3,378 Inuit whose status was known for HBV serologic markers and PPD reactivity. Overall, a significantly greater proportion (76.2%) of HBsAg positives were PPD reactive in comparison to those positive for anti-HBs (67.2%) or who had no HBV markers (43.2%). For persons 30 years of age who were positive for HBsAg or anti-HBs there was no significant difference between the proportions with PPD reactivity but a significantly smaller proportion of PPD reactivity was found in the no marker group. Among persons 30 years of age, the proportions of those who were PPD reactive were statistically equivalent across all three HBV marker groups. We conclude that patterns of HBV infection in NWT are random with respect to tuberculin reactivity resulting from either exposure to M. tuberculosis or administration of BCG vaccine.