TABLE 2. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seropositivity, by country — World Health Organization South-East Asia Region, 2011–2017.
| Country | Year of most recent representative HBsAg seroprevalence survey | No. of persons tested | HBsAg seroprevalence, before vaccine introduction % (95% CI) |
HBsAg seroprevalence in children aged ≥5 years,* after vaccine introduction % (95% CI) |
Year of verification of ≤1% HBsAg seroprevalence† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh§ | 2011–2012 | 2,100 prevaccine; 2,100 postvaccine | 1.2 (0.7–1.6) | 0.05 (0.0–0.1) | 2019 |
| Bhutan¶ | 2017 | 775 prevaccine; 546 postvaccine | 2 (1.0–4.0) | 0.5 (0.1–1.8) | 2019 |
| Burma** | 2015 | 5,547 prevaccine only†† | 6.5 (5.9–7.2) | ND | NS |
| India | ND | — | — | — | NS |
| Indonesia§§ | 2013 | Total sample of >15,000§§ | 7 (NR) | 4.20 (NR) | NS |
| Maldives | ND | — | — | — | NS |
| Nepal¶¶ | 2012 | 1,200 prevaccine; 2,186 postvaccine | 0.3 (0.1–0.9) | 0.1 (0.04–0.4) | 2019 |
| North Korea | ND | — | — | — | NS |
| Sri Lanka | ND | — | — | — | NS |
| Thailand*** | 2014 | 2,805 prevaccine; 3,159 postvaccine§§ | 4.5 (NR) | 0.3 (NR) | 2019 |
| Timor-Leste | ND | — | — | — | NS |
Abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; ND = not done; NR = not reported; NS = not submitted to the regional verification commission.
* Born after the nationwide implementation of universal hepatitis B infant immunization.
† Verification is done by a regional commission of experts from the Hepatitis B immunization Expert Resource Panel that determines if the country has reached the target of ≤1% HBsAg seroprevalence among children aged 5 years.
§ http://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.17-0721.
¶ World Health Organization. Serosurvey to estimate the prevalence of biomarkers of infections with hepatitis B and C viruses, and antibodies to measles and rubella Bhutan, March–April 2017. New Delhi, India: World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia Office; 2017.
** Lwin AA, Aye KS, Htun MM, et al. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C viral infections in Myanmar: national and regional survey in 2015. Myanmar Health Sci Res J 2017;29(3).
†† Prevaccine sample included adults.
§§ Muljono DH. Epidemiology of hepatitis B and C in Republic of Indonesia. Eurasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2017;7:59-9.