A study of seroprevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C among troops in Armed Forces

Abstract

error taken at 5% and expected deviation as 1% for HBV and 0.5% for HCV, a minimum sample size of 1120 for HBV prevalence study and 1521 for HCV prevalence study was obtained. The sample was selected from the study population of army units located in the same station by the method of multistage random sampling.A detailed questionnaire was developed to study the risk factors for transmission of HBV and HCV infections and was administered to all serving personnel during sample collection. RESULTSA total of 1511 samples were collected from serving soldiers and all of these, were tested for HBsAg and anti-HCV.HBV: Overall point prevalence of HBsAg positivity in serving soldiers was found to be 1.25% (95% CI = 0.69%-1.81%).HCV: Of the 1151 samples tested for anti-HCV, not even one tested positive.Questionnaire on likely risk factors of HBV infection were administered to 1511 serving soldiers; completed questionnaires were received from 1262 persons and these were used for analysis of results.Mean age of the responders was 31.3 years with SD of 5.3 (range 19-46 years). Around 97% responders were personnel below officer rank and 95.6% were educated more than primary level (Table 1).History of having taken injections from civil medical practitioners was observed to be a highly significant risk factor (P < 0.001) with OR = 10.22 (95% CI = 3.29-30.68), thus indicating that injections from civil increased the risk of infection by ten times (Table 2). Past history of surgery (OR = 5.24), undergoing dental procedure (OR = 3.17), habit of sharing razors (OR = 9.09) were observed to have increased risk of HBV infection with, however the risk was not statistically significant in the study group. DISCUSSIONFindings of the study indicate that over all seroprevalence of HBV infection among population of Armed Forces was 1.25%. This is lower than 2.4% calculated as true prevalence in non-tribal

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C Viruses and Their Associated Factors Among Military Personnel at Military Camps in Central Gondar, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“… 32 Our finding is higher than reports in Lithuania (1.97%), 33 Pakistan (3.24%; 34 2.8% 35 ), China (0.44%), 36 Greece (0.32%), 37 Caribbean country (4.0%), 38 Brazil (0.22%), 39 UK (0.37%), 40 and India (1.25%). 41 The discrepancy between our findings and the studies conducted elsewhere might be due to variations in sample size, sampling technique, socioeconomic status, availability of medical services, study period, vaccination status, type of risk exposure to HBV infection, and diagnostic techniques.…”

“… 46 , 47 In contrast, no co-infection of these viruses was detected in studies conducted in Ethiopia and elsewhere. 16 , 38 , 41 The absence and/or low prevalence of HBV and HCV co-infection is related to the replication inhibition mechanism of both viruses. A mutual inhibition of viral replication occurs in HBV and HCV co-infection, with HCV exerting a negative effect on HBV replication and HBsAg carriers with concurrent HCV infection having low-level HBV viremia, low titers of HBsAg in serum, and low-levels of intracellular HBsAg.…”

Viral hepatitis in India: Armed Forces perspective

“…16 Similarly, a community based cross sectional study in 2011 also found the overall seroprevalence of HBV infection among population of the Indian Armed Forces to be 1.25%. 17 Screening of blood donors from Kolkata has also similarly shown HBsAg seropositivity of 0.99%. 18 One community-based study, however, found a seroprevalence rate of 7.9%.…”

A Study of Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection, Knowledge and Preventive Practices Against Hepatitis B Virus in Barbers Serving the Armed Forces

“…The prevalence of HBV infection among the Indian Armed Forces population was 1.25%, according to a study carried out among troops of the armed forces; 19 however, there has been limited information on the prevalence of occult hepatitis B among barbers due to lack of studies on the subject in the armed forces. The current study does not bring out any significant difference in the prevalence of occult hepatitis B in the barbers serving the armed forces clientele and the general population.…”