Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen amongst Patients in Selected Hospitals in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been identified as one of the most common infectious diseases of major health concern globally. The common method for detecting hepatitis B infection is to detect the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).This research work was undertaken to determine the seroprevalence and possible risk factors of hepatitis B surface antigen amongst patients in selected hospitals in Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Two hundred (200) blood samples were collected from patients who presented themselves for HBV screening and tests were carried out for one hepatitis B virus serological marker: HBsAg using Agary HBsAg test kits. Information was obtained for risk factors using structured questionnaire. There was an increased number of females (55.5%) compared to males (44.5%) recruited for this study. An overall seroprevalence of 9.5% for HBV infection was obtained from this study. About 5.4% and 14.6%of the female and male patients respectively were HBsAg positive. There was significant association between patients with hepatitis B family history ( ᵪ 2 =25.319;p=0.001), intravenous drug use (ᵪ2=7.707;p=0.006), tribal marks/ tattoos (ᵪ2 =3.879;p=0.049) and traditional barbers (ᵪ2 =12.604;p=0.001). Other risk factors studied were not significantly associated with HBsAg seropositivity. The highest and lowest frequency of HBsAg infection was observed in age group; 35-44 years (19.2%) and 15-24 years (5.3%) respectively. The high occurrence of HBsAg in this study calls for an urgent intervention strategy that place emphasizes on the need for enlightenment and massive vaccination against HBV.