We conducted a community-based study in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, including both native Dutch and migrant participants, who were tested for serological markers of hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C infection.<h4 class=""h4"">Resultsh3>
Markers for hepatitis A infection were present in 68 % of participants. The prevalence of hepatitis B core antibodies (anti-HBc), a marker for previous or current infection, was 20 % (58/284). Prevalence of hepatitis A and B varied by age group and ethnicity. Two respondents (0.7 % ) had chronic HBV infection. The prevalence of hepatitis C was 1.1 % (3/271). High levels of isolated anti-HBc were found.<h4 class=""h4"">Conclusionsh3>
We found a high prevalence of (previous) viral hepatitis infections. This confirms previous observations in ethnic subgroups from a national general population study and illustrates the high burden of viral hepatitis in areas with large immigrant populations.