| Abstrakt: |
The prevalence of HBV infection varies from less than 1% in the developed world to more than 8% in some Asian countries, it has been studied in Iraq and it was found that HBsAg positivity was around 1%. The prevalence of HBV infections among people in Sulaimani Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq has not been measured before. Hence, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Sulaimani Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A cross-sectional study was conducted to measure the prevalence of HBV infection in Sulaimani Governorate. A total number of 523 individuals were randomly selected from visitors attended the assigned health facilities (for any purpose) in various locations (residency) with different ages from 11 to 69 years from 5 October to 3 March 2021. Sera of participants were tested for Hbs Ag, total antiHBc Ab and anti-HBs Ab using the corresponding ELISA kits by Foresight ELISA kit, USA, the assay was conducted in the Sulaymaniyah Public Health Laboratory. Among 523 individuals, 47 (9%) were positive for HBcAb, 10 (1.9%) and 38 (7.3%) were positive for HBsAg and HBs Ab, respectively. The prevalence of HBV infection was 9% in Sulaimani Governorate. 86.2% of individuals were negative for all the HBV markers. The highest HBcAb prevalence was 11.1% age group < 17-years old while the lowest was 4% in age group > 50-years old. HBcAb positivity was higher in females compared to males (9.2% vs. 8.5%). The results revealed that only 38 (7.3%) of participants were positive for anti- Hbs Ab. Only 30 (5.7%) were sure about their childhood HBV vaccination with 2 (5.3%) are anti HBs Ab positive, 4 (10.5%) and 17 (44.7%) were positive for HBs Ag and HBc Ab, respectively. The findings revealed that Sulaimani Governorate /Kurdistan Region of Iraq is of high HBV prevalence when compared to other regions of Iraq. In our study, in addition to HBsAg, the anti-HBc antibody was also used as marker for identification of HBV infection. Most of population has low anti-HBs antibodies with deficit in knowledge about HBV vaccination and there is a need to schedule a programmed screening anti-HBs Ab tests to elucidate the need for booster doses of HBV vaccine to decrease the HBV prevalence in Sulaimani Governorate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
