Viral hepatitis B and C infections in adolescents born pre- and post-hepatitis B vaccine introduction in Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

Hepatitis B and C Virus (HBV, HCV) infections are major contributors to the burden of chronic liver diseases globally. In a bid to curb the HBV infection, the Nigerian Government introduced the HBV vaccine into the National Program on Immunization (NPI) in 2004.This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of HBV and HCV infections among adolescents in secondary schools in Calabar, Cross River State, South-South Nigeria, in the pre- and post-vaccination era. This was a school-based, cross-sectional study. Six hundred and sixty secondary school adolescents, aged 10-20 years, were recruited using multi-staged sampling technique. Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) and HCV antibody screening were done respectively on the study participants using rapid chromatographic immunoassay method. The relationship between sociodemographic variables and Hepatitis B infection were described. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. The mean age of the participants was 14.85±2.11 years. Six participants were positive for HBsAg, giving an overall prevalence of 0.9%. The positive adolescents were from public schools, and the age group mostly positive was 16 years and above (2.1%). None of the screened adolescents was positive for HCV antibody. Though the prevalence of HBV infection was low, most of those positive were delivered before the introduction of the HBV vaccine into the NPI schedule. Modalities to vaccinate young people delivered before the introduction of Hepatitis B vaccine into the NPI schedule should be developed.