A Cross-sectional Study on the Sero-prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) among Apparently Healthy Students of a Tertiary Institution in North-Eastern Nigeria

Aims: This study was carried out to ascertain the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection and its relationship to gender and age among apparently healthy students of a tertiary institution in North-eastern Nigeria.
Study Design: Sero-prevalence of HBsAg in relation to gender and age.
Place and Duration of Study: Federal Polytechnic Mubi, North-eastern Nigeria, between August 2013 and September, 2014.
Methodology: In this study, 200 apparently healthy students of a tertiary institution in North-eastern Nigeria were screened randomly to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). To achieve this, 200 blood samples were screened in a step wise order using One Step Strip Style HBsAg test. The blood was allowed to retract and then centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 10 minutes. The test device was dipped into the serum sample for 3 sec and read after 10 min.
Results: The result showed an overall HBsAg seroprevalence of 31.5%. The seroprevalence of HBsAg among males (43%) was higher than that of females (27%) but with no statistical significant difference (p=0.462). The age-specific distribution of HBsAg among subjects in this study showed higher HBsAg prevalence rate among the age group 35 & above (50%), closely followed by the age group 30-34 (48%) with no statistical significant difference between all the age groups (p=0.353).
Conclusion: The result of this study confirmed the high endemicity of HBsAg among apparently healthy individuals in North-eastern Nigeria which is alarming. It is therefore recommended that as a matter of urgency Nigerian government should extend HBV vaccination programme to the adult folks and not just limited to the national childhood immunization programme.