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- Title
Prevalence of hepatitis B viral infection at paediatric gastroenterology clinic of ABUTH, Zaria.
- Authors
Sani, M; Hafsat, W; Sakinatu, M; Ibrahim, Aliyu; Sani, Musa; Alhassan, M
- Abstract
Background: Hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection occurs worldwide and is highly endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective review of cases of childhood HBV infection seen at gastroenterology clinic of ABUTH, Zaria from July 1st 2009 to June 30th 2015. Results: Four hundred and six subjects were seen in the gastroenterology clinic during the 6-year period under review. Ninety-two of these had HBV infection giving a prevalence of 22.7%. Sixty-three (68.5%) were males and 29 (31.5%) females giving a male to female ratio of 2.2:1. The age of the subjects ranged from 1 to 14 years with mean value of 8.0 ± 3.0 years. Use of contaminated sharps was the most common identifiable source of infection. Eighty-five (92.4%) of the cases were not vaccinated against HBV infection. Twenty-seven (64.3%) of the 42 available subjects at 6 months of follow-up were still HBsAg positive. All the 42 subjects that were available for follow-up for 6 months were on Livolin forte (supplement containing phosphatidylcholine and vitamins). Twenty-five of the 92 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive children tested positive for e antigen and 13 (52.0%) of these remained positive at 6 months follow-up. All the 27 subjects with chronic HBV infection were further evaluated for eligibility for antiviral therapy. Fever, abdominal pain, and yellowness of the eyes were the most common complaints whereas joint pain was the least reported. Conclusion: Childhood hepatitis B viral infection is a serious problem affecting more males. Use of sharps is the most common modality of transmission, whereas at the 6th month of follow-up visit, most of the subjects were in the immune clearance phase of chronicity.
- Subjects
HEPATITIS B virus; DISEASE prevalence; PEDIATRIC gastroenterology; PEDIATRIC epidemiology; ABDOMINAL pain in children
- Publication
Nigerian Journal of Basic & Clinical Sciences, 2018, Vol 15, Issue 2, p114
- ISSN
0331-8540
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.4103/njbcs.njbcs_9_18