Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019158 (hepatitis)
 30,205 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Many Southeast Asian refugees have resettled in the United States. This report reviews data from 426 refugees who underwent comprehensive examination and treatment at the Mayo Clinic. Health problems identified were primarily selected contagious illnesses and stress syndromes with functional complaints. Counseling was necessary in 17 percent of adults for psychosomatic problems or psychiatric disorders. When family-planning issues were applicable and addressed, 80 percent of women chose some method of contraception. The prevalence rate of intestinal parasites was 82 percent, and pathogens necessitated persistent treatment and follow-up. Tuberculosis skin-sensitivity testing was positive in 54 percent; the risk of active disease warrants prophylactic treatment until age 35 years. Hepatitis antigen was positive in 13 percent; precautions should be taken for potentially exposed professionals. Hematologic genetic disorders were very common and accounted for most of the 25 percent incidence of microcytosis. Physicians should become aware of cultural attitudes and treatment acceptance among Indochinese patients and should carefully investigate for infectious diseases.
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PMID:Indochinese refugee health assessment and treatment. 684 38

More than 0.5 million refugees from Southeast Asia have immigrated to the United States. We undertook a prospective evaluation of 709 refugees within two months of their resettlement in San Diego. The sample included 164 Vietnamese, 356 Cambodians, 139 Laotians, and 50 Hmong. The prevalence of abnormalities was high: intestinal parasites, 61%; positive tuberculin test (PPD) results 55%; anemia, 37%; hepatitis B antigenemia, 14%; and abnormal VDRL test results, 12%. Except for hepatitis, significant differences were noted among the Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and Hmong subjects on each of these health status indicators. The refugee population should not be considered a homogeneous group of Indochinese, particularly by those responsible for their health care.
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PMID:Health status of refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. 706 47

Between 1975 and 1983 health care expenditures in Ghana dropped to a low point as a consequence of the structural readjustment program instituted by the World Bank. During 1975-76 only 15% of available funds were spent on primary health care (PHC), which was officially introduced in the late 1970s. PHC made up 20-25% of the health care expenditures by 1991 with about 25% of health personnel engaged in PHC. 2/3 of health care delivery covered urban areas when 60% of the population lived in the countryside. The district of Ejisu-Juaben in the Ashanti region had high morbidity. Tetanus, polio, whooping-cough, and diphtheria had been brought under control, but measles, diarrhea, and malnutrition were still widespread among children under 5 years old. Malaria, bilharzia, intestinal parasites, respiratory infections, hepatitis, anemia, hypertension, and vitamin A deficiency were also grave problems. AIDS was on the rise. Child mortality amounted to 130/1000 live births and maternal mortality to 1400/100,000 cases. The medical structure of the district comprises 10 health posts (6 governmental and 4 mission). Only 72 villages and 120,000 people are cared for. Each post has a mobile team. In 1993 a new community-based health care program began funded by Save the Children Netherlands. In 60 villages a village health committee existed but they were substandard. They were either reactivated or new committees were set up. Training activities were also started in prenatal care, delivery, care of malnutrition and diarrhea, hygiene, and sanitation. Two years later safe motherhood indicators had improved; postnatal care increased from 16% to 49%; medical deliveries increased from 27% to 37%; the share of families with contraceptive acceptance increased from 7% to 21%; and tetanus vaccination among mothers was estimated to have increased from 27% to 86%.
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PMID:[Primary health care in Ghana: no pay no cure?]. 750 Oct 68

To assess the role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in liver disease in Somalia, antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) was studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) in 110 patients with chronic liver diseases, in 309 healthy adults, in 179 institutionalized subjects with a high prevalence of intestinal parasites and Schistosoma haematobium, and in 287 children with diseases other than hepatitis. According to the RIBA test, anti-HCV was present in three healthy adults (0.97%), in four institutionalized individuals (2.2%), but in none of the children. The prevalence of anti-HCV was 4.8% in patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive chronic liver diseases and 20.6% in patients with HBsAg-negative chronic liver diseases. Thus, HCV infection appears to play a minor role in HBsAg-positive liver disease in Somalia but may be an important factor in HBsAg-negative chronic liver disease. The low anti-HCV prevalence in individuals with no hepatic disorders is consistent with the fact that HCV does not spread by nonpercutaneous transfer. We found also a large proportion of both patients with hepatic disease and institutionalized individuals who tested positive by ELISA but not confirmed by RIBA. However, the likelihood of a true positive result increases proportionally with the ELISA value; thus, in most cases a low ELISA value probably represents a false-positive reaction, while a high ELISA value probably represents a true positive reaction.
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PMID:Hepatitis C virus infection in chronic liver disease in Somalia. 768 79

We investigated the prevalence of peripheral blood abnormalities, parasitic infestation, and hepatitis virus infection, by using the results of the primary screening health checkups for 423 students (male: 317, female: 106, average age +/- SD: 34.2 +/- 5.5 year-old) from abroad. Most of them were from Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and other developing countries in tropical or subtropical areas. Thalassemia-like hematological disorders, showing microcytic peripheral red blood cells without any anemia, were seen in 7.6 percent of the students, and intestinal parasites were revealed in 12.7 percent of them. The positive rate for anti-hepatitis A virus antibodies (84.3%) and the exposure rate of hepatitis B viruses (35.3%) were similar to previous reports. Compared with the positive rate for anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies (anti-HCVAb) of students from other regions (1.5%), a significantly high seropositivity for anti-HCVAb was encountered in Egyptian participants (21.1%). In recent years, population shifts and rapid transportation have facilitated the spread of certain infectious diseases from endemic to non-endemic areas. International preventive strategies, education of people regarding infectious diseases, and sufficient medical staffs for this purpose are urgently recommended.
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PMID:[Implication of health checkups of students from developing countries in Japan]. 1051 90

International adoptions have become increasingly common in the United States. Children awaiting international adoption and families traveling to adopt these children can be exposed to a variety of infectious diseases. Compared with the United States, foreign countries often have different immunization practices and methods of diagnosing, treating, and monitoring disease. Reporting of medical conditions can also differ from that of the United States. The prevalence of infectious diseases varies from country to country and may or may not be common among adopted children. The transmission of tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and measles from adopted children to family members has been documented. Furthermore, infectious organisms (e.g., intestinal parasites), bacterial pathogens (e.g., Bordetella pertussis and Treponema pallidum), and viruses (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis viruses) may cause clinically significant morbidity and mortality among infected children. Diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome or avian influenza have not been reported among international adoptees, but transmission is possible if infection is present. Family members may be infected by others during travel or by their adopted child after returning home. Families preparing to adopt a child from abroad should pay special attention to the infectious diseases they may encounter and to the precautions they should take on returning home.
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PMID:International adoption: issues in infectious diseases. 1694 42

Between October and December 1979, 192 refugee patients received medical screening for hepatitis, intestinal parasites and tuberculosis at the Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto. Of the 192 patients, 83 were found to harbor intestinal parasitic ova and cysts; 143 were tested for tuberculosis, of whom 50 were found to be positive; 192 were checked for hepatitis, of whom 21 had asymptomatic hepatitis B antigenemia.
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PMID:Screening indochinese refugee patients: result of 192 cases. 2129 8