TITLE:
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Serological Patterns in Benue State, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Emmanuel Msugh Mbaawuaga, Christian Ukuoma Iroegbu, Anthony Chibuogwu Ike
KEYWORDS:
HBV Markers, Acute HBV, Chronic HBV, HDV, Benue State
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medical Microbiology,
Vol.4 No.1,
February
19,
2014
ABSTRACT:
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.