Undiagnosed Hepatitis B and C Virus Infection at a Teaching Hospital in Rawalpindi

Abstract

Uncontrolled prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infections is known to be a global health problem. Many cases are undiagnosed yet. So, this study focusses on the undiagnosed existence of viral infection of hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C infection (HCV) in hospitalized patients and outdoor attendees to draw a more accurate picture of the prevalence of HBV and HCV. A cross-sectional observational study at Benazir Bhutto hospital Rawalpindi Pakistan continued for seven months and included hospitalized patients and outdoor attendees. Venous blood collected from 2003 subjects and processed to investigate infection by ELISA. We observed the overall prevalence of HBV was 2.6% and HCV was 10.98%. Further 4.2% was the highest infection rate of HBV in patients of Surgery and Medicine and the lowest in Orthopedics, Urology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Intensive Care Unit, Ear Throat and Nose, Eye>0.001%. We found the highest rate of HCV infection was in Medicine 22.90% and the lowest was in Pediatrics>0.001%. For the age, the HBV infection was found to be 4.55% the most prevalent in the age range of 61-75 and the lowest>0.001% in 76-90 years. Age group 46-60 years showed the highest 19.07% and 16-30 years the lowest 6.44% prevalence of HCV infection. Observed HBV-positive participants were 60.78% males and 39.22% females. While among the participants, males contributed 50.90% H C Virus infections and females contributed 49.10% infections. Although undiagnosed but prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infection is very high. Therefore, some effective strategies should be implemented.

Hepatitis C virus: Its prevalence, risk factors and genotype distribution in Pakistan

“…As there are no verifiable statistics about the developing facilities, it is premature to conclude that present measures are sufficient to combat persistent infection levels. 224,225,232…”

“…Injection drug usage was linked to a high frequency of HCV infection. 203,224,225 The pangenotypic regimens are important to treat the infection, prognosis, and clinical treatment of HCV related to all genotypes. The Asian-Pacific region recommends Solvadi for the treatment of liver disease in people with the GT3, GT2, and GT1 genotypes.…”

“…As there are no verifiable statistics about the developing facilities, it is premature to conclude that present measures are sufficient to combat persistent infection levels. 224,225,232 In Pakistan, getting and analyzing data about epidemiology is hard because there are not enough death and disease data or health management. The present data is comprised of studies conducted in hospitals.…”

Antimicrobial peptides derived from microalgae for combating antibiotic resistance: Current status and prospects

“…S. platensis and Spirulina maxima express antiviral properties against human diseases such as HSV‐1 and HSV‐2 15,16 . Hepatitis is a serious threat, 17,18 and the need for drugs against this is a need of the hour. Some researchers have identified potential compounds with antihepatitis activity 19 .…”

Hepatitis B and C: Prevalence and Evaluation of Its Associated Risk Factors in General Population of Okara District

“…Certain risk factors are common in both HBV and HCV for its transmission among people including the use of an unsterilized syringe, unscreened blood transfusion, contaminated needle wounds, nose and ear piercing, frequent visits to barber shops for shaving in developing countries, intravenous drug use and sexual contact with infected individuals (Irfan et al, 2016). Punjab is the largest populated province of Pakistan and previous studies were conducted in Rawalpindi (Khan et al, 2020), Lahore (Khurram et al, 2021), Gujranwala (Yasmin, 2012), and Southern Punjab (Mirza et al, 2007) to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV. The elevated prevalence of HBV and HCV in developing countries can be attributed not only to the various community-based risk factors but also to the challenges faced by brittle health and hepatology assistance.…”