Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who have high rates of infection compared with non-Indigenous Australians. An article published in the Medical Journal of Australia this month looks at a study aimed at increasing the evidence base around HBV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through an analysis of routine clinical encounter data.
Concluding that a substantial proportion of patients tested were susceptible to HBV, with a high percentage potentially infectious compared with the general population. High levels of active infection and susceptibility to infection suggest many opportunities for transmission and indicate the potential benefit of routine HBV testing and vaccination in this population.