Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus in a tertiary institution in North Western Nigeria

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of HBV infection and the possible potential risk factors among students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted between April and August, 2013. Structured questionnaires were administered to obtain socio demographic data and possible risk factors that might be associated with the viral infection. Blood samples were collected at the University Health Services (UHS) from 600 consenting consecutive students aged between 16 and 40 years old. The sera were screened for HBsAg using device kit and anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe and anti-HBc using one-step cassette style diagnostic kits. Reactive sera for HBsAg were further confirmed using ELISA kits. Of the 600 students tested for HBsAg, 9.2% (55/600) tested positive among which, none had detectable anti-HBs antibodies, indicating recent infection. About 7.3, 36.4 and 94.5% were positive for HBeAg, anti-HBe and anti-HBc respectively. There was a significant association between age group, gender, family history of the students and HBV infection (P=0.016, 0.049 and 0.000, respectively). Other risk factors studied were not significantly associated with the viral infection. The seroprevalence of 9.2% for HBsAg obtained in this study indicates high endemicity according to WHO classification. Four of the students were highly infectious. The study indicates that close contact among family members and economic disadvantages of some of the students might be predisposing factors to the infection. More than half of the students were ignorant about HBV.