Nejo Yewande, Faneye Adedayo Omotayo, Olusola Babatunde, Bakarey Solomon, Olayinka Adebowale, Motayo Babatunde
Department of Biological Sciences, Bowen University Iwo, Nigeria.
Department of Virology, College of Medicine University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Pan Afr Med J. 2018 Jun 20;30:155. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2018.30.155.14886. eCollection 2018.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health challenge in sub-Saharan African countries. Chronic HBV infection is a risk factor for severe disease progression. Perinatal and sexual transmissions of Hepatitis B virus are the main routes of infection in HBV endemic countries like Nigeria. However, there is paucity of data as regards the major contributory route of transmission to chronic HBV infection in this region. Also, in Nigeria, not everyone at high risk of the infection has been identified. Therefore our study investigated the prevalence of HBV infection among sexually active individuals in Nigeria.
Blood samples collected from 463 participants (360 sexually active individuals and 103 teenagers) recruited from health institutions across the country were tested for the presence of HBsAg, and HBV nucleic acid related antigen (HBVNRAg) by ELISA. Positive samples were further tested for the presence of HBeAg and antiHBe by ELISA. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and binary logistic regression at p = 0.05.
HBsAg and HBVNRAg were detected in 10.4% and 7.6% of the participants respectively. STI clinic attendees had the highest prevalence for HBsAg (17%; p = 0.002). Teenagers had the lowest HBsAg (1.9; p = 0.002) and HBVNRAg (2.9%; p = 0.0001) prevalence rates. Male gender (p = 0.01) and reproductive age group (p=0.009) were the major predictors of chronic HBV infection.
Sexual transmission was identified as the major contributor to chronic HBV infection. Sexually active individuals especially those with STIs are high risk groups for chronic HBV infection. Interventions targeted at this group is therefore recommended.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染是撒哈拉以南非洲国家面临的一项重大健康挑战。慢性HBV感染是严重疾病进展的一个危险因素。在尼日利亚等HBV流行国家，乙型肝炎病毒的围产期传播和性传播是主要感染途径。然而，关于该地区慢性HBV感染的主要传播途径的数据却很匮乏。此外，在尼日利亚，并非所有感染高危人群都已被识别出来。因此，我们的研究调查了尼日利亚性活跃人群中HBV感染的患病率。
从全国各医疗机构招募的463名参与者（360名性活跃个体和103名青少年）采集血液样本，通过酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）检测HBsAg和HBV核酸相关抗原（HBVNRAg）的存在情况。对阳性样本进一步通过ELISA检测HBeAg和抗HBe的存在情况。使用卡方检验和二元逻辑回归分析数据，p值设为0.05。
分别在10.4%和7.6%的参与者中检测到HBsAg和HBVNRAg。性传播感染（STI）门诊就诊者的HBsAg患病率最高（17%；p = 0.002）。青少年的HBsAg（1.9%；p = 0.002）和HBVNRAg（2.9%；p = 0.0001）患病率最低。男性（p = 0.01）和育龄组（p = 0.009）是慢性HBV感染的主要预测因素。
性传播被确定为慢性HBV感染的主要促成因素。性活跃个体，尤其是患有性传播感染的个体，是慢性HBV感染的高危人群。因此，建议针对该群体采取干预措施。
