Screening
����Testing for HBsAg and anti-HBs should be performed on groups at
high risk for HBV infection (Table 2), and seronegative persons should
be vaccinated. (I)
Table 2. High Risk Groups
Individuals born in areas of higha or intermediate prevalence ratesb for HBV
including immigrants and adopted childrenc,d
Asia: All countries
Africa: All countries
South Pacific Islands: All countries
Middle East (except Cyprus and Israel)
European Mediterranean: Malta and Spain
The Arctic (Indigenous populations of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland)
South America: Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, and Amazon regions of Bolivia,
Brazil, Colombia, and Peru
Eastern Europe: All countries except Hungary
Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Granada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and
Nevis, St. Lucia, and Turks and Caicos.
Central America: Guatemala and Honduras
Other groups recommended for screening
U.S. born persons not vaccinated as infants whose parents were born in regions with
high HBV endemicity (��� 8%)
Household and sexual contacts of HBsAg-positive personsd
Persons who have ever injected drugsd
Persons with multiple sexual partners or history of sexually transmitted diseased
Men who have sex with mend
Inmates of correctional facilitiesd
Individuals with chronically elevated ALT or ASTd
Individuals infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) or HIVd
Patients undergoing renal dialysisd
All pregnant women
Persons needing immunosuppressive therapy
HBsAg prevalence 8%.
HBsAg prevalence 2%-7%.
c
If HBsAg-positive persons are found in the first generation, subsequent generations should be
tested.
d
Those who are seronegative should receive hepatitis B vaccine.
a
b
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