High Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in the Age Range of 20-39 Years Old Individuals in Lome

Abstract

Background:Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It affects all women and men irrespective of age. Although sub-Saharan Africa is an area of high prevalence of this disease, data on the prevalence of acute and chronic HBV infections in this region remain to be widely documented.Objective:This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of HBV in relation to age in Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Campus (CHU-C), one of the two teaching hospitals of Lome, Togo.Method:The present study is a cross-sectional study about the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriage from 2009 to 2011. All study participants were screened for HBsAg at the Immunology laboratory of CHU Campus of Lome.Results:One thousand two hundred individuals were screened for HBsAg from 2009-2011. The overall prevalence of HBV infection was 19.08%. This prevalence was significantly higher in men (25.00%) than women (14.80%). The highest prevalence of HBV was observed in age range of 20-29 years and 30-39 years with respectively 26.33% and 21.67%. The lowest prevalence was 6.08%, found in people over 50 years. Concerning the clinical indication of the test, the prevalence during the clinical abnormalities related to liver (CARL) was the highest (26.21%), followed by the systematic screening (SS) with 20.25% while the pre-operative assessment (POA) showed the lowest prevalence with 5.56%.Conclusion:The study shows the high prevalence of HBsAg carriage in young people. This could be used to enhance prevention and treatment of HBV infection in Togo.

Knowledge, attitude and seropositivity of hepatitis B virus among blood donors in the Bamenda Regional Hospital Blood Bank, Cameroon

“…In this study, the overall seropositivity of HBV infection was 6.4%, with rst time donors recording a seropositivity of 8.8%. This "high intermediate category" observation on the overall seropositivity is lower than the reports of studies in other African countries including Ghana (7.5% and 13.3%), Equatorial Guinea (10.01%), Cameroon (12.6%),Burkina Faso (14.47%), and Togo (19.08%) [9,[14][15][16][17][18]. Our ndings are, nonetheless, higher than the recorded seroprevalence of 4.1% and 3.21 that was reported in respectively, Northwest Ethiopia and Madagascar (19)(20).…”

Prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Hepatitis C Antibodies in Sickle Cell Disease Children under Sixteen in Two University Hospitals of Lome

“…That association was found in a survey in northern Uganda where females were more infected than males [19]. A previous study in Lomé reported that men were more infected than women [20].…”

Prevalence of Hepatitis B among Students from the University of Lomé, Togo in 2015

“…Many studies have already reported a higher prevalence of HBV in men compared to women [13] [20] [21]. In Lemoine's study, the prevalence of hepatitis B among men was 10.5% compared to 7.6% among women (p = 0.004).…”

“…One study conducted among people living with HIV in 2011 estimated the HBV prevalence at 9.7% [4]. Another study among prisoners in 2013 estimated the prevalence at 12.5%, while a study among individuals in a hospital in Lomé found a prevalence as high as 19.1% [5] [13]. However, no study in Togo has so far specifically focused on the prevalence of HBV among youth and university students, who could be considered a vulnerable population.…”