Adherence to chronic hepatitis B screening guidelines for persons from intermediate to high prevalence Countries

The adherence to the CDC guideline on screening non-U.S. born persons for hepatitis B virus infection was assessed. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at University of Washington primary care clinics using the electronic medical records. Persons from hepatitis B virus prevalent countries were identified using country of origin and language. Of 2329 eligible for screening, only 617 (26.5%) were screened. The prevalence of HBsAg was 35 (5.7%). Among women of reproductive age (18–44 years, n = 906), 238 (26.3%) were screened, and 7 (2.9%) were HBsAg positive. Low screening practice for chronic hepatitis B infection, and high infection prevalence among those screened was noted. The findings indicate that potentially three out of every one detected case may be missed. Urgent efforts are needed to scale up and consistently implement HBV screening at primary care clinics.