The current status of hepatitis B in Lebanon

The current status of hepatitis B infection in Lebanon is unknown due to the scarcity of published studies on the subject. This study was conducted to summarize the available information on hepatitis B in Lebanon since 1966, as well as to determine the current status of the problem, by analyzing the prevalence of positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) reported from different laboratories of major hospitals covering the six districts of Lebanon in the year 2000. The overall HBsAg carrier rate among 61,271 tested individuals was 2.2%, being 13% among 30,809 blood donors, and 3.6% among 13,669 tested individuals in serology laboratories. There were marked geographical variations in the HBsAg carrier rate being 0.8% in Mount Lebanon, 1.9% in each of Bekaa and Greater Beirut, 2.2% in North Lebanon, 2.4% in Nabatiyeh, reaching up to 4.7% in South Lebanon. These findings are comparable to the previously reported studies on pregnant women and children, thus confirming that Lebanon is moderately endemic for hepatitis B. Such information stresses the urgent need for efficient national public health surveillance campaigns, and mass vaccination programs. In addition, the universal screening of pregnant women for HBsAg, and the implementation of universal newborn vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) should be the standard of medical care for the control and eradication of HBV in Lebanon.