The Changing Epidemiology of Viral Hepatitis B in Iran

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevalence has decreased dramatically in Iranian population during the last decade, and now our country is classified as having low endemicity for hepatitis B infection. Improvement of the people's knowledge about HBV risk factors, national vaccination program since 1993 for all neonates, and vaccination of high risk groups might justify this decrease. The HBV vaccination started in infants in two provinces (Zanjan and Semnan) in 1989, and in 1993 the vaccination was included in the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) countrywide. After 13 years of implementation, the coverage has reached an appropriate level from 62% in 1993 to 94% in 2005. Evaluation of risk factors in HBV infected people is important for designing the strategies to control the disease. Intensifying HB vaccination of high risk groups, surveillance of hepatitis B infected subjects, and control on health state of refugees will further decrease the frequency of the disease in our country. Considering all possible routes of transmission in subjects without risk factors for infection is necessary. Changes in the pattern of transmission of new cases of hepatitis B, inform us of changes in the epidemiology of viral hepatitis B infection.