Hepatitis A, B, C and E virus markers in Chinese residing in Tokyo, Japan

Recently, the number of foreigners living in Japan has been increasing, with the majority originating from China. It is important for us to know the prevalence of hepatitis virus markers among them, as proper medical practices and vaccinations should be prepared when seeing them and their offspring.

We examined the relationship between the prevalence of hepatitis virus markers: hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-HBs, anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV), anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) and anti-hepatitis E virus immunoglobulin (Ig)G, and background such as age, birthplace and length of stay in Japan, of 568 Chinese residing in Tokyo, and also of 55 indigenous Japanese.

The prevalence of HBV and HAV markers in Chinese staying in Tokyo is higher than in indigenous Japanese (HBsAg, 10% vs 1.8%; anti-HBs, 45% vs 9.0%; anti-HAV, 90% vs 14%). There were no differences in anti-HCV and anti-HEV IgG between the two groups.

Indigenous Japanese subjects have less immunity against HAV and HBV. The HBV carrier rate is higher in Chinese subjects, and attention should be paid to this issue in clinical practice. It might be important to control hepatitis viruses in Chinese subjects when doctors see them in Japan.