{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,27]],"date-time":"2026-09-27T14:51:41Z","timestamp":1790520701537,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]],"date-time":"2021-12-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639353600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Luxembourg"},{"name":"Luxembourg Institute of Health"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Hepatitis B is endemic in Lao PDR and about 9% of the adult population is chronically infected. In this study, we investigated regional, occupational, age and sex-related differences in hepatitis B epidemiology in Lao blood donors.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>5017 voluntary blood donors from 8 different provinces were tested for hepatitis B markers by ELISA. Predictors for the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies against the core antigen (anti-HBc) were assessed by bivariate and multivariable analyses.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>In total, 41% of the participants were positive for anti-HBc; the HBsAg prevalence was estimated at 6.9% among all participants (9.2% among first-time donors and 3.9% among repeat donors). Among first-time donors, HBsAg positivity was associated independently with being male (p&lt;0.001), being from the North (p&lt;0.001) and being soldier (p&lt;0.001). Participants were more likely to be anti-HBc positive when they were male (p&lt;0.001), from the Northern provinces (p&lt;0.001) and older than 20 years (p&lt;0.01).<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>In conclusion, our study confirmed an overall high HBsAg and anti-HBc prevalence in Lao PDR, albeit with considerable regional variation. The identification of a sizeable number of HBsAg positives among repeat donors warrants a thorough investigation of current blood screening, record keeping, donor identification and counselling practises.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0259814","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]],"date-time":"2021-12-13T18:31:08Z","timestamp":1639420268000},"page":"e0259814","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Analyses of blood donor samples from eight provinces in Lao PDR suggest considerable variation concerning HBV exposure and carriage"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Phonethipsavanh","family":"Nouanthong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5449-9503","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Lisa","family":"Hefele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jerapha","family":"Keokhamphue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vonhphet","family":"Sorrasin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vilaysone","family":"Khounvisith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chanthala","family":"Souksakhone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Prapan","family":"Jutavijittum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claude P.","family":"Muller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antony P.","family":"Black","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Judith M.","family":"H\u00fcbschen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0259814.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.canlet.2008.10.040","article-title":"Liver cancer: descriptive epidemiology and risk factors other than HBV and HCV infection","volume":"286","author":"SC Chuang","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cancer Lett"},{"issue":"Suppl 4","key":"pone.0259814.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1634\/theoncologist.2010-S4-05","article-title":"The incidence and epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma: a global and regional perspective.","volume":"15","author":"AP Venook","year":"2010","journal-title":"Oncologist"},{"key":"pone.0259814.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141","DOI":"10.1016\/S1726-4901(09)70346-6","article-title":"Hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: epidemiology and pathogenic role of viral factors.","volume":"70","author":"C-J Liu","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Chinese Med Assoc"},{"key":"pone.0259814.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1329","DOI":"10.1093\/ije\/dyi206","article-title":"A mathematical model to estimate global hepatitis B disease burden and vaccination impact.","volume":"34","author":"ST Goldstein","year":"2005","journal-title":"Int J Epidemiol"},{"key":"pone.0259814.ref005","unstructured":"World Health Organization. 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