Hussein Nawfal R, Naqid Ibrahim A, Abozait Halder J, Ibrahim Nashwan Mr, Jamal Shakir A, Rashad Brisik H, Waisi Rijwan Azad, Naji Dalia Ayhan, Salih Nadia Sulaiman, Hassan Iman Salah, Ahmed Parween Fadhil, Khwasty Nidar Loqman, Haji Marwa Faris, Issa Alina Abo, Abdulrazaq Marwa Talib, Morad Merdeen Muhammed Rasheed, Saleem Zana Sidiq Mohammed, Musa Dildar H
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Zakho, Zakho City, Iraq.
Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Duhok, Duhok City, Iraq.
IJID Reg. 2025 Jul 11;16:100703. doi: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2025.100703. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in developing countries. Despite the availability of an effective vaccine, chronic HBV infection continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of HBV infection in Zakho City, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 26 February 2025 in Zakho City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, using a multistage random sampling method. Data were collected from 386 participants through structured face-to-face interviews and serological testing for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-hepatitis B core immunoglobulin G antibody (HBcAb) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
The overall HBV positivity rate (HBcAb-positive) was 8%, with 7% indicating past infection (HBcAb-positive, HBsAg-negative) and 1% indicating chronic infection (HBcAb-positive and HBsAg-positive). In the multivariate analysis, HBV positivity was significantly associated with older age ( = 0.001) and male gender ( = 0.026). The highest prevalence (32.1%) was observed among participants aged ≥ 60 years.
The findings demonstrate a moderate prevalence of past HBV infection and a relatively low rate of chronic carriers in Zakho city. Older age and male gender were significant predictors of HBV positivity. These results underscore the importance of continued public health efforts in HBV screening, early detection, and vaccination, particularly targeting older and at-risk populations.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染仍然是一项重大的全球健康挑战，在发展中国家尤为如此。尽管有有效的疫苗，但慢性HBV感染仍继续导致大量发病和死亡。本研究旨在确定伊拉克库尔德地区扎胡市HBV感染的患病率及相关危险因素。
2025年2月26日在伊拉克库尔德地区扎胡市采用多阶段随机抽样方法进行了一项基于人群的横断面研究。通过结构化面对面访谈收集了386名参与者的数据，并使用酶联免疫吸附测定法对乙型肝炎表面抗原（HBsAg）和抗乙型肝炎核心免疫球蛋白G抗体（HBcAb）进行了血清学检测。
总体HBV阳性率（HBcAb阳性）为8%，其中7%表明既往感染（HBcAb阳性，HBsAg阴性），1%表明慢性感染（HBcAb阳性且HBsAg阳性）。在多变量分析中，HBV阳性与年龄较大（P = 0.001）和男性（P = 0.026）显著相关。在年龄≥60岁的参与者中观察到最高患病率（32.1%）。
研究结果表明扎胡市既往HBV感染患病率中等，慢性携带者比例相对较低。年龄较大和男性是HBV阳性的重要预测因素。这些结果强调了在HBV筛查、早期检测和疫苗接种方面持续开展公共卫生工作的重要性，特别是针对老年和高危人群。
