DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2022.v10i10.007

Pages: 1620-1627

Background: The increasing prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection globally has become a huge concern. This organism is a gram-negative bacterium that infects the lining of the stomach, causing peptic ulcer disease as well as gastric cancer. Approximately 50% of the world populations are known to be infected with Helicobacter pylori.This study evaluated the knowledge, perception as well as prevalence of Helicobacter pylori among the students of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). A total of 1,500 who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were recruited for the study. Ethical clearance and informed consent were retrieved and a well-structured questionnaire was administered to each participant. Blood samples were collected from the participants and screened for Helicobacter pylori antibody using rapid test kits (CTK Biotech, Inc., San Diego, USA). Information obtained was analysed using SPSS version 25.0. P-values <0.05 were reflected as statistically significant. Out of the 1,500 students tested, 964 (64.3%) were positive for H. pylori. The prevalence was higher in females 896 (59.7%) as against 604 (40.4%) in males. The students within the age group of 20-24 years reported the highest prevalence. There was no statistical significance in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori between the age groups (P=.370) and gender groups (P=.927). Based on evaluation of knowledge and perception of Helicobacter pylori among ESUT students, 1365 (91%) had heard of ulcer but only 577 (38.5%) had been diagnosed of ulcer previously. Majority of the student participants (65.7%) knew antacid as a medication for ulcer. About half the population (50.5%) perceived that ulcer is related to weight loss. 36.5% believed ulcer could bring about lack of concentration while 36.8% agreed that ulcer makes one highly irritable. Conclusion: The purpose of this work was to generate information with emphasis on the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori among the study population .........