Hepatitis B infection among Asian American Pacific Islanders in the Rocky Mountain area

To detect the rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), data on hepatitis B antigens and antibodies were collected as part of a community health fair. Two hundred seventy adults received free hepatitis B screening. The serological results of 82 Whites showed that 1.2% were positive for serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and 21% were positive for serum hepatitis B antibody (HBAb). Of 161 AAPIs, 4.3% were positive for serum HBsAg and 60% were positive for HBAb. Despite the limitation of design, these data provide some insight on the rate of HBV infection in AAPIs because there are no data on prevalence of HBV infection of AAPIs in the Rocky Mountain Area.