Trend analysis of hepatitis B and C among patients visiting health facility of Tigrai, Ethiopia, 2014–2019

Abstract

Background Hepatitis B and C viruses are the major public health concerns of the globe. The two hepatotropic viruses share common modes of transmission and their co-infection is common. Despite the provision of an effective prevention mechanism, the infections caused by these viruses remain a significant problem worldwide, particularly among developing countries like Ethiopia. Methods This institutional-based retrospective study was conducted between January 2014 December and December 2019 from documented laboratory logbooks of Adigrat general hospital serology laboratory, Tigrai, Ethiopia. data were collected and checked for completeness on a daily based, coded, entered, and cleaned using Epinfo version 7.1, exported and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Binary logistic regression analysis and Chi-square test (X2) assessed the association between dependent and independent variables. The corresponding variables with a P-value (P < 0.05) and 95% confidence interval were considered statistically significant. Results Out of 20,935 clinically suspected individuals, 20,622 were given specimens and tested for hepatitis B and C viruses with total completeness of 98.5%. The overall prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus was found to be 3.57% (689/19,273) and 2.13% (30/1,405), respectively. The positivity rate of the hepatitis B virus was 8.0% (106/1317) and 3.24% (583/17,956) among males and females, respectively. Additionally, 2.49%( 12/481) of males and 1.94% (18/924) of females were positive for hepatitis C virus infection. The overall prevalence of co-infection for both hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus was 7.4% (4/54). Sex and age were significantly associated with hepatitis B and C virus infection. Conclusions The overall prevalence of hepatitis B and C is low intermediate according to the WHO criteria. Although there was a fluctuating trend of hepatitis B and C through the years 2014–2019, the result shows moreover declining trend. Both hepatitis B and C share similar routes of transmission and affect all age categories but males were more highly affected than females. Therefore, awareness creation of the community about the methods of transmission, education about prevention, and control of hepatitis B and C virus infection, and improving coverage of youth-friendly services in health facilities should be strengthened.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B, C, and its associated risk factors among clinically suspected patients attending poly and Maraki Health Centers, Gondar City, North West Ethiopia

“…In contrast, the HBsAg prevalence in this study is relatively higher than in studies done in clinically suspected patients in the Tigray region (3.57%), 6 health professionals at Gondar University Teaching Hospital (4.52%), 32 HIV-infected patients in northwest Ethiopia (2.0%), 14 healthcare workers at Jimma University (2.5%), 4 and clinically suspected patients in Rabat, Morocco (2.47%). 33 This difference might be due to differences in the study populations, in which health workers in previous studies were expected to be more aware of the transmission of the HBV virus than the general population groups in this study.…”

“… 16 Similarly, the prevalence of HCV varies among different studies in Ethiopia. The ranges of the prevalence reports were 3.0% 17 to 11.7% 18 in patients with HIV infection, 0.4% 13 to 8.5% 19 among blood donors, 1.0% 20 to 1.9% 21 in the general population, and 2.13% 6 to 12.4% 22 in clinically suspected individuals.…”

“…In Ethiopia, the prevalence of HBV ranges from 2.5% 4 to 11.5% 5 among medical professionals, 3.57% 6 to 21.16% 7 among clinically suspected individuals, 5.7% 8 to 9.0% 9 among the general public, 3.8% 10 to 10.9% 11 among pregnant women, 2.1% 12 to 10.9% 13 among healthy blood donors, and 2.1% 14 to 11.7% 15 among HIV-positive individuals. According to a systematic review and meta-analysis study, the pooled prevalence of HBV in different groups in Ethiopia is 7.4%.…”