Özet:

Objectives: The aim of the study was to present human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis A, B, and C seroprevalence data in Afghan irregular migrants. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Erzurum, which had two of Turkey’s 28 immigration removal centers, and included 9,197 Afghan irregular migrants of all ages referred to the hospital between January 2011-2019. Continuous data were presented as median (minimum-maximum) values; categorical variables were expressed as frequency (percentage) values. Results: Seropositivity rates were 5.5% for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), 1.6% for hepatitis C virus, 94.3% for hepatitis A virus (HAV), and 0.2% for HIV. Rates of HBsAg, anti-hepatitis B core antibody immunoglobulin G (anti-HBc IgG), and anti-HAV positivities were significantly lower in the 0-15 age group, while the rate of anti-HBs positivity was significantly higher in the 0-15 and ≥41 age groups. In the 7,196 immigrants who underwent all three hepatitis B tests (HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc IgG), infection was detected in 7.0%, while 87.5% had never encountered hepatitis B or been vaccinated against hepatitis B. Conclusion: Epidemiological studies on migrant populations are necessary to protect public health in the host country. As there is limited information pertaining to these groups in the literature, having access to health data will be beneficial for physicians who provide medical care to this group.

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