Hepatitis B Testing and Vaccination in Immigrants Attending ESL Classes in British Columbia

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is highly endemic in most Asian countries (Nguyen and Keeffe, 2003) and between 30% and 50% of Chinese immigrants to North America show serologic evidence of past HBV infection (Walker and Jaranson, 1999; Merican et al., 2000). In 2004, approximately 250,000 persons in Canada were infected with HBV, 70% being immigrants (Sherman et al., 2004). Immigrants from countries with high HBV prevalence and low levels of HBV vaccination have an excess risk of liver disease (Di Bisceglie et al., 1988; Hwang et al., 1996; London and McGlynn, 1996; Euler, 1997; Merican et al., 2000; Jenkins et al., 2001). In fact, 80% of liver cancer among Asians in the United States (US) was associated with HBV infection (London and McGlynn, 1996; Johnson, 1996).