Sudan is a highly endemic area for hepatitis B virus (HBV),Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health problem causing considerable morbidity and mortality despite the availability of vaccine and antiviral treatments. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than onethird of the world population is or has been in contact with the virus, resulting in Ͼ350 million HBV chronic carriers worldwide, with Ͼ18% of them living in Africa. Sudan is classified among the African countries with high HBV endemicity. The reported prevalence of HBV chronic infection, characterized by the detectable level of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), varied from region to region and ranged between 5 and 7% in the general population (1,13,28,31) and 26% in hospital outpatients (25). The prevalence of adults having been in contact with HBV and identified by the presence of anti-core antibodies (anti-HBc) was high, ranging between 47.5 and 67% (25,28).

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