Differences in Incidence of Acute Viral Hepatitis between Foreigners and Autochthonous Population in Italy.

Franca D’Angelo,Maria Tosti,Alessandra Burgio,Susanna Caminada,Giulia De Ponte,Annamaria Mele,Luigina Ferrigno,Simonetta Crateri,Valeria Alfonsi,Silvia Declich

doi:10.3390/ijerph18157944

Franca D’Angelo, Maria Tosti + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157944

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Abstract

Background: In European countries, the prevalence of HBV and HCV in refugees and migrants tends to reflect the prevalence in their countries of origin. The aim of this study is to analyse acute viral hepatitis cases diagnosed in Italy among foreign citizens and to compare incidence rates in foreigners and Italians. Methods: We analysed the cases of each viral hepatitis type among foreigners. Standardised incidence rates were compared between natives and foreigners. Results: Between 2004 and 2019, 15,872 cases of acute viral hepatitis were notified by 10 Italian regions, 14.8% among foreign citizens. Until 2012, the percentage increased gradually, while a fluctuating trend set in from 2013 onwards; in 2019, 23.9% of cases were foreigners. Data from the SEIEVA surveillance show higher standardised incidence rates of hepatitis A and B among foreign citizens; no significant difference emerged between Italians and foreigners in terms of their hepatitis C incidence. Conclusions: foreign citizens have an increased incidence of hepatitis A and B. Regarding hepatitis A, vaccination is strongly recommended to foreigners travelling to their countries of origin. Screening tests for hepatitis B and C infection should be offered to newly arrived migrants from high prevalence countries, or having specific risk factors.

Highlights

The percentage varies according to the different types of hepatitis: the highest data were observed for nonA-nonC/unknown hepatitis (22.2%), while the percentages of cases having foreign citizenship were respectively 13.3% and 17.0% for hepatitis A and B (Table 1)
Most of the acute viral hepatitis cases among foreign citizens were observed in persons from Strong Migratory Pressure Countries (SMPC) (96.9%), while only 74 cases were diagnosed among foreigners from
The present study finds that the percentage of foreigners among cases notified to the SEIEVA surveillance (14.8%) is slightly higher than the estimated percentage of migrants in Italy, which is around 10%

Summary

Introduction

The Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) recorded 5,039,637 foreign residents in Italy at 1st January 2020, i.e., 8.4% of the total resident population [4]. These estimates do not represent the number of foreigners present in the country, as they do not include undocumented migrants: the Italian Initiative and Study on Multiethnicity (ISMU) estimates that. The aim of this study is to analyse acute viral hepatitis cases diagnosed in Italy among foreign citizens and to compare incidence rates in foreigners and Italians. Results: Between 2004 and 2019, 15,872 cases of acute viral hepatitis were notified by 10 Italian regions, 14.8% among foreign citizens. Data from the SEIEVA surveillance show higher standardised incidence rates of hepatitis A and B among foreign citizens; no significant difference emerged between Italians and foreigners in terms of their hepatitis C incidence

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