DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i01.058

Pages: 323-326

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is a serious public health problem. The infection causes chronic debilitating conditions like liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The infection can be prevented by immunization which was introduced into the National Programme on Immunization in Nigeria in 2004. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen among persons born before and after the introduction of Hepatitis B vaccine into the National Program on Immunization. Materials and Methods: this was a retrospective study involving the review of the laboratory records of Uguma Medical Laboratory Ogoja, from January 2014 to August 2015. Results: A total of 1223 persons were tested for hepatitis B virus infection during the study period. Their ages ranged from 2 to 65 years. There were 564 (46.1%) males with a male to female ratio of 1:1.2. The overall prevalence of the infection was 9.2%. The prevalence in children ≤10 years was 3.4%; 8.7% in children 11-15 years and 9.6% in those > 15 years. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for a national policy on catch up vaccination of young children and adults who were born before the introduction of hepatitis B virus vaccine into the National Program on Immunization in 2004.