Epidemiology and transmission of hepatitis B and C viruses in Kazakhstan.

Aim: To investigate the epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the two major ethnic groups in Kazakhstan.

Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study of HBV and HCV seroprevalence was performed among individuals born in Kazakhstan with no history of chronic hepatitis or liver disease.

Results: There were 290 volunteers (140 Russians and 150 Kazakhs) aged 10 to 64 years, males accounted for 46%.

Polyomavirus SV40 infections in Kazakhstan.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence of polyomavirus SV40 infections in Kazakhstan, a central Asian country known to have used potentially contaminated SV40 poliovaccines before 1962.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 307 healthy volunteers from two ethnic groups (Kazakhs and Russians) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from May through August 1999 using a specific SV40 plaque-reduction neutralization assay.

Results: Of the 307 volunteers enrolled in the study, 154 were Kazakhs and 153 were Russians.

Helicobacter pylori infection in Kazakhstan: effect of water source and household hygiene.

The epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection and risk factors associated with its transmission are not well understood. Kazakhstan is country with two ethnic groups, Asian (Kazakhs) and Western (Russians), living under similar socioeconomic conditions. The aim of this study was to examine the seroepidemiologic pattern of H.