Introduction: Benue State of Nigeria has a high morbidity and mortality among individuals from HIV/AIDS. HBV is common among people who are at risk of/or living with HIV since both are transmitted in the same ways and...Introduction: Benue State of Nigeria has a high morbidity and mortality among individuals from HIV/AIDS. HBV is common among people who are at risk of/or living with HIV since both are transmitted in the same ways and in the presence of co-infection, there is increased risk for serious life threatening liver and other health complications. This study was carried out to assess the prevalence of HBV and HIV infections among Health Care Workers (HCWs) in some health care centers in the state. Materials and Methods: A total of 255 randomly collected blood specimen of consenting HCWs from some health care centers located in Benue State were screened by ELISA for Hepatitis B virus markers. Antibodies to HIV 1and 2 were detected in sera using Determine (Alero, Japan) and Stat Pak (USA) test strips. Other information was obtained through administration of structured questionnaire and data generated were analyzed using Chi square (χ2) test. Results: Of the 255 sampled individuals, 221 (86.7%) showed serological evidence of exposure to HBV markers, some through natural infection (21.6%) and others (23.9%) through vaccination;10.6% of the exposed were currently infected, while 30.6% were indeterminate. HIV antibodies were in 43 (16.9%) while 6 (2.4%) had both HBV and HIV infections. HIV significantly (P = 0.027) increased with increasing years of professional service in the health sector, similar to needle stick injury (P = 0.000) in this study. Both HBV and HIV were significantly higher (P = 0.025, P = 0.000 respectively) in individuals with history of previous surgery. Conclusion: Therefore, HBV and HIV infections are common among HCWs in Benue State. Hence, there is need to scale up vaccination coverage for HBV and upgrade the medical facilities especially in rural health care centers as well as intensification of programmes targeting safety and prevention for precautions.展开更多
A total of 1535 randomly collected blood specimens from different groups of consenting subjects in Benue State, were screened by ELISA for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibodies (HBsAb), h...A total of 1535 randomly collected blood specimens from different groups of consenting subjects in Benue State, were screened by ELISA for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibodies (HBsAb), hepatitis B core antibodies (HBcAb), hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg) and Hepatitis B core IgM antibodies (HBcIgM). The pattern of occurrence of these HBV markers in each blood sample was used to determine individuals with current, acute or chronic infection histories. Of the 1535 sampled individuals, 1319 (85.9%) showed a serological evidence of exposure to HBV infection, some through natural infection (22.7%) and others (13.0%) through vaccination;12% of the exposed were inferred to be currently infected and 91.2% chronically infected. Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) antigen was also detected in 2.7% of the HBsAg positive individuals;and was encountered more (6.7%) in those with acute hepatitis than those with chronic disease. Thus, there are apparently healthy persons with acute and chronic HBV and HDV infection who may serve as source of infection to others. This calls for a government organized Hepatitis Programme to treat cases of acute and chronic hepatitis and roll out strategy for preventing the spread of HBV infections.展开更多
文摘Introduction: Benue State of Nigeria has a high morbidity and mortality among individuals from HIV/AIDS. HBV is common among people who are at risk of/or living with HIV since both are transmitted in the same ways and in the presence of co-infection, there is increased risk for serious life threatening liver and other health complications. This study was carried out to assess the prevalence of HBV and HIV infections among Health Care Workers (HCWs) in some health care centers in the state. Materials and Methods: A total of 255 randomly collected blood specimen of consenting HCWs from some health care centers located in Benue State were screened by ELISA for Hepatitis B virus markers. Antibodies to HIV 1and 2 were detected in sera using Determine (Alero, Japan) and Stat Pak (USA) test strips. Other information was obtained through administration of structured questionnaire and data generated were analyzed using Chi square (χ2) test. Results: Of the 255 sampled individuals, 221 (86.7%) showed serological evidence of exposure to HBV markers, some through natural infection (21.6%) and others (23.9%) through vaccination;10.6% of the exposed were currently infected, while 30.6% were indeterminate. HIV antibodies were in 43 (16.9%) while 6 (2.4%) had both HBV and HIV infections. HIV significantly (P = 0.027) increased with increasing years of professional service in the health sector, similar to needle stick injury (P = 0.000) in this study. Both HBV and HIV were significantly higher (P = 0.025, P = 0.000 respectively) in individuals with history of previous surgery. Conclusion: Therefore, HBV and HIV infections are common among HCWs in Benue State. Hence, there is need to scale up vaccination coverage for HBV and upgrade the medical facilities especially in rural health care centers as well as intensification of programmes targeting safety and prevention for precautions.
文摘A total of 1535 randomly collected blood specimens from different groups of consenting subjects in Benue State, were screened by ELISA for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibodies (HBsAb), hepatitis B core antibodies (HBcAb), hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg) and Hepatitis B core IgM antibodies (HBcIgM). The pattern of occurrence of these HBV markers in each blood sample was used to determine individuals with current, acute or chronic infection histories. Of the 1535 sampled individuals, 1319 (85.9%) showed a serological evidence of exposure to HBV infection, some through natural infection (22.7%) and others (13.0%) through vaccination;12% of the exposed were inferred to be currently infected and 91.2% chronically infected. Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) antigen was also detected in 2.7% of the HBsAg positive individuals;and was encountered more (6.7%) in those with acute hepatitis than those with chronic disease. Thus, there are apparently healthy persons with acute and chronic HBV and HDV infection who may serve as source of infection to others. This calls for a government organized Hepatitis Programme to treat cases of acute and chronic hepatitis and roll out strategy for preventing the spread of HBV infections.
