DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2019.v07i01.003

Pages: 13-17

Objective: To ascertain the prevalence of Hepatitis B infection among patients visiting a tertiary care center in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Material and methods: An observation analytic study was done at a tertiary care center affiliated to Medical College with retrospective analysis of the hospital data of two calendar years. During this period HBV infection screening was offered to every suspected patient admitted in hospital and every pregnant women visiting antenatal care clinic. Patients with history of Hepatitis B vaccinations in last 30 days were not screened for HBs antigen at our center. The HBV screening was done using commercially available enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits (ELISA) for detection of surface antigen (HBs Ag). Results: The study prevalence of HBV infection was 1.35% (441/32,772). The prevalence was more in male (2.14%) than females (1.22%). The study prevalence of HBV among pregnant females was 1.13% (232/20565). Maximum positive cases (290/441, 65.76% positive cases) were in the age group of 21-40 years. Conclusion: In this study, prevalence of HBV infection was 1.35%. The study prevalence of HBV among pregnant females was 1.13%. Maximum positive cases (290/441, 65.76% positive cases) were in the age group of 21-40 years. This study aids in view to strengthen proper screening for HBV (HBs antigen) and effective vaccination for Hepatitis B virus to reduce HBV related morbidity and mortality.