Risk factors of hepatitis B infection: Health policy makers should be aware of their importance in each community

Despite the availability of an effective vaccine, Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection still remains a foremost health problem. Undoubtedly, finding the key routes of hepatitis transmission from the point of prevention in every country, specifically in endemic regions, is of high priority. Such efforts are especially important given that many infected patients with hepatitis are asymptomatic (1, 2). Iran and Turkey are located in the Middle East, and HBV prevalence varies from intermediate to high in most countries in this region. In most countries across the world, the epidemiology of HBV infection has changed after the integration of HBV vaccination in infants and high-risk groups (3-6). The most frequent risk factors of HBV infection are familial contact, blood transfusion, hospitalization, surgery, and sexual contact (7, 8). Ozor et al. presented a series of valuable data concerning the risk factors of HBV infection in a general population of Turkey (9). They described that individuals with close familc 2011 Kowsar M.P.Co. All rights reserved. Please cite this paper as: Miri SM, Alavian SM. Risk factors of hepatitis B infection: Health policy makers should be aware of their important in each community. Hepat Mon.2011;11(4):238-9. Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: This editorial tries to emphasize and bold one of the main original article published in this issue by Ozer et al which describes the prevalence of HBV in a population of Turkish people.