Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B at Tertiary Care Hospital

ABSTRACT

The burden of Hepatitis B caused by a hepatotropic virus, Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), is a significant public health problem in India, although a cost-effective vaccine is available at each corner of the world. It has been estimated that up to 10% of HBV global burden is shared by India alone. Each year approximately 0.1 million deaths occur due to HBV and its related illnesses in our country. The present study aims to determine actual prevalence of disease by active surveillance at tertiary care hospital. Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at tertiary care hospital western UP, from June 2018 to Dec 2018. 2-4 ml of blood sample from each patient was collected and sent to VRDL from different clinical OPDs and IPDs for routine screening of HVB and these all were included in this study. For this routine screening of HBV, Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) was used as a marker of infection. The technique used was Chemiluminescence ELISA method. The data was collected on a predesigned patient information sheet. Results: A total of 13613 samples were tested, and of these all, 653 were positive for HBsAg. Hence, the overall prevalence observed in this study was 4.8%. Among all seropositive cases, 341 (50.2%) were males and 312 (47.8%) females with P value of (P >0.05). The majority of cases 50.1% were in the age group of 16-30 years, and among these, females were dominant with 32.8% over 17.3% males. Conclusion: Thus, this study concludes that HBV infection is still a public health problem which should be among the prioritized health problem in our country.