Effectiveness of hepatitis virus tests with on-site results in identifying middle-aged individuals with latent viral hepatitis

Abstract

A health fair conducted by our hospital in 2019 provided participants the opportunity to undergo a hepatitis screening test and obtain the result on site. Of 70 participants who visited the fairʼs hepatitis test booth, 40 underwent the test on site, and 28 were aged ＜ 60 years. In 2018, a health fair informed participants of similar testing opportunities provided at our outpatient clinic at a later date; 15 people visited the clinic for the test, and 11 underwent the test. Eight (73%) tested individuals were aged ＞ 60 years. The ratio of test participants to fair visitors aged ＜ 60 years in 2019 (2.8%) was 18.7 times higher than those in 2018 (0.2%). Similarly, a threefold in-crease in the number of test participants was shown in those aged ＞ 60 years in 2019 compared with those in 2018. An on-site hepatitis virus screening test can be an efficient strategy for identifying middle-aged individuals with latent hepatitis.