Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Detection and Quantification of Hepatitis B Virus DNA
Published on: December 15, 2023
Trends in hepatitis B incidence in Romania, 1989-2005
Dana Pitigoi1, A Rafila, A Pistol
1Department of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Abstract:
In the early 1990s, Romania had a high incidence of hepatitis B, with over 30 cases per 100,000 population annually. The disease represented a serious public health problem, especially for children. As a result, public health measures were introduced during the 1990s such as the enforcement of the use of single-use needles and a routine vaccination programme for children and health workers. This paper describes the change in incidence of HBV infection in Romania from the late 1980s until 2005, and demonstrates the impact of those measures. They have lead to a dramatic decrease in hepatitis B incidence across the country: overall, the incidence has decreased from 43 per 100,000 in 1989 to 8.5 per 100,000 in 2004. The decrease has been most prominent in children under 15, dropping from 81 to 11 per 100,000 population and year during that period.
Related Concept Videos
Hepatitis
Viral Hepatitis I: Introduction
Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health condition at a...
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
Viruses with RNA Genomes