Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C Among Residents of Internally Displaced Persons Camps in Abuja Nigeria

Abstract

A cross-sectional indebt study was carried out in order to find out the prevalence of hepatitis B and C among residents of internally displaced persons camps in Abuja, Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were used to gather information on sociodemographic and risks factors. Four hundred and fifty participants (142 males, 308 females) were tested for hepatitis B and C using immunochromatography strips. Chi-square analysis, bivariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis (MLRA) were statistical tools employed to explore data collected. Age in terms of mean for each respondent was 22 years. The prevalence of hepatitis B and C among the IDPs was 9.3% and 7.3% respectively. Bivariate analysis did not disclose any significant risk factors to hepatitis B and C. However, multiple logistic regression revealed the significant risk factors for hepatitis B infection as having no previous knowledge of hepatitis (AOR= 25, p-value = 0.02). Also, multivariate analysis showed that being vaccinated against HBV was protective for Hepatitis B (AOR= 0.05, p-value = 0.04). This study concludes that hepatitis B was more prevalent among the IDPs in the 3 camps studied and recommends that creation of awareness on hepatitis B and C including factors that pose on-going risk to infection within the IDP camps, effective vaccinations for non-infected members and treatment should also be provided to infected individuals.