Public health management of hepatitis B virus contacts

To the Editor: The Auckland Statement on Viral Hepatitis, released in September 2012, called for action to prevent new hepatitis B and C infections.1 Estimates suggest that more than 200 000 Australians are living with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, with nearly half being unaware of their diagnosis.2,3 Childhood vaccination is crucial to HBV prevention, but many people from high-risk populations, including immigrants and refugees from endemic countries, are infected before arriving in Australia.4 Targeted screening of high-risk groups for susceptibility or undiagnosed infection is therefore also integral to public health management of HBV infection.