Sero-Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C Antibody among the Residence of Island Communities of Lake Chad Basin, Borno State, Nigeria

Aim: The study sought to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) among the people of Lake Chad Basin of Borno State Nigeria.

Study Design: A cross sectional quantitative survey that derived information on the behavioral characteristics, vulnerability of the population and prevalence of HBV and HCV.

Place and Duration of Study: Testing for HBV and HCV antibodies was carried out among the people of urban and rural communities of Lake Chad Basin of Borno State Nigeria in 2017.

Methodology: 1790 samples were collected on dried sample blot card, dried and transported to National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development Abuja where the samples were tested using HBsAg ELISA rapid test kit (ACON, USA) and confirmed with HBsAg ELISA test kit (ABON, ABON Biopharm Hangzhou Co. Ltd). HCV tests was carried out using ACON hepatitis C test strip (ACON Laboratory, INC USA) and confirmed with ELISA HCV kit (ORTHO HCV version 3.0; Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, New Jersey, USA). The results were expressed in percentages

Results: The result of the study revealed that 28 representing 1.56% tested positive for HBV and 3(0.17%) was HCV positive. On disaggregation, Commercial sex workers (CSW) and prison inmates had the highest prevalence of HBV and HCV 8.5% and 1.41% respectively. The highest number of positive cases of HBV was recorded among the males in the age range of 40-44 (3.25%), while the highest cases among the females was within the age range of 35-39 (6.8%). HCV positive cases were one male and two females within the age range of 20-24. HBV was higher in urban communities (3.70%), while HCV was higher in rural communities (0.17%).

Conclusion: Interventions such as vaccination against HBV, sexual education prevention of blood exposure was suggested to mitigate further transmission of these infections