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Prevalence of hepatitis-B surface antigen among blood donors and human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in Jos, Nigeria.

Uneke CJ, Ogbu O, Inyama PU, Anyanwu GI, Njoku MO, Idoko JH

Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Clinical Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State University, PMB 053, Abakaliki, Nigeria. unekecj@yahoo.com

Information is very scarce on the prevalence of hepatitis-B virus (HBV) infection among blood donors and patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Nigeria. Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) ELISA was used to determined the prevalence of HBsAg among 175 blood donors (aged 20-40 years) and 490 HIV-infected patients (aged 17-60 years) in Jos, Nigeria. Twenty-five (14.3%) of the blood donors and 127 (25.9%) of the HIV-infected individuals were HBsAg seropositive, indicating a higher HBV infection among HIV-infected persons than among healthy blood donors. A slightly higher HBsAg seroprevalence was recorded in the males (14.6%) than females (12.9%) of the blood donors. Among the HIV-infected patients, the males had considerably higher HBsAg seroprevalence than the females (31.8 vs 22.1%) with the highest prevalence of HBsAg occurring in the 51-60 years age group (44%), followed by those of 31-40 years (28.2%). Results confirmed the high endemicity of HBV infection in Jos, Nigeria and the significantly greater prevalence of HBV infection among HIV-infected patients than among blood donors.

Published 3 May 2005 in Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 100(1): 13-6.
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