Hepatitis B surface antigen; screening in young Pakistani males

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis B is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world with over 350 million chronic carriers worldwide. In Pakistan, most of the studies have been done in high risk groups such as health care workers, voluntary blood donors etc. Few studies have been reported in general population so far. Therefore, there is dearth of knowledge regarding prevalence of HBV infection in young males seeking employment in various sectors of society. To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen [HBs Ag] in a population-based sample of healthy young males that were drawn from various regions of Pakistan for recruitment. Combined Military Hospital, Attock, from Jan 2001 to Mar 2002. Cross-sectional observational. A total number of 4552 healthy young males who reported for pre-recruitment physical examination, belonging to all the provinces of Pakistan, Northern areas and Azad Kashmir were screened for HBs Ag by immunochromatographic technique. The positive result was confirmed using Enzyme Immunoassay kit. Out of the total of 4552 healthy young males; HBsAg was positive in 190 subjects [4.2%]. Prevalence of HBs Ag in individuals from Sindh was significantly higher than those from other regions. Major risk factors for HBV infection were sharing of razors [56.8%], history of intravenous injections [39.5%], jaundice in the subject [18.4%] and jaundice in family [18.9%]. In HBs Ag positive subjects, 11.1% revealed no identifiable risk factor. There is more than two fold reduction in the HBs Ag prevalence over the last ten years. Major risk factors in the population are exposure to contaminated blood and use of needle sticks. However, a sizeable number of HBV infection do occur in our young healthy males which go undetected and are only detected on screening at the time of employment. Despite the already detailed knowledge about the transmission of hepatitis B, more work is required to search other mode of transmission on Hepatitis B