Abstract:
Hepatitis B (HBV) is one of the commonest and
wide spread infections of humans and it is most prevalent in
developing countries, including Nigeria. The disease is closely
related to HIV, with one influencing the other in no small
measure. This study aims at determining the prevalence of
hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among HIV positive
patients attending Limi hospital in the Central Area of Abuja. A
total of 250 HIV patients were screened for HBsAg, using rapid
monochromatic test strip to determine the presence or absence of
HBsAg in the samples. Of the 250 serum samples screened, 35
were positive for HBsAg, giving an overall prevalence of 14.0%.
The highest prevalence rate (19.4%) was recorded among
patients within the age group of 51-60 years, while the lowest
prevalence of 12.3%was recorded among patients within the age
group of 21-30 years. The prevalence was also higher in the
female population (14.3%) than in the male population (13.6%).
The prevalence of the disease with respect to socioeconomic
status of the patients showed highest prevalent rate (22.34%)
among people with low socioeconomic status, followed by a
prevalence rate of 18.18% and 3.96% among people with middle
and high socio-economic status, respectively. The prevalence
based on knowledge of the patients about the infection showed
20.43% prevalence among people that were not aware and
10.19% prevalence among people that were aware. The
prevalence of the infection in this study is statistically related to
all the parameters tested, i.e. Age, Sex, Social status and
knowledgeability of the subjects about the infection. The study
here, thus confirms a high prevalence of HBV infection among
the studied population. Public enlightenment, routine diagnosis
and proper treatment of infected people are recommended for the
public in general, and among immunocompromised patients in
particular.
