Demographic and Sociocultural Characteristics of Sickle Anaemia Children with Positive Hepatitis B Surface Antigenaemia in a Tertiary Health Facility in Enugu

Hepatitis B virus infection is contracted through contact with body fluid of infected persons. Patientswith sickle cell anaemia (SCA); a common haematological disorder inNigeria; have tendencies to visit traditional healerswho administer scarifications and ritualmarks thatmay expose themtoHBVinfection. To determine the demographic and socio-cultural characteristics of children with SCA infected withHBVat theUniversity ofNigeriaTeachingHospital Enugu. Two hundred and twenty one children aged 6months to 17years with SCA were recruited consecutively from October 2004 to April 2005. They were screened for HBsAg using ELISA method. There was no statistically difference in hepatitis B surface antigenaemia among different age group (P=0.907). Social class did not significantly influence the prevalence of HBsAg among subjects (p=0.887). socio-cultural practices like circumcision and scarification did not influence the prevalence of HBsAg; (p=0.636) (p=0.771) respectively. Significantly highernumber of people fromlowest socioeconomic class practice scarification (p=0.0001). Demographic and sociocultural factors do not appear to influence the prevalence of HBsAg among childrenwith SCAinEnugu;Nigeria. Sickle cell anaemia; Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia; Demographic; Sociocultural characteristic

Sociodemographic Differences in the Distribution of Hepatitis C Virus Antibodies among Children with Sickle Cell Anemia in Enugu; South East Nigeria

Background:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has become an important cause of chronic liver disease and liver cancer worldwide. A study of the sociodemographic differences in the distribution of HCV antibodies (Anti-HCV) among those at risk will broaden knowledge of the problem among patients in this part of the country. Objective: To determine the sociodemographic differences in the distribution of HCV antibodies among transfused children with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) in Enugu and compare it with their non- transfused counterparts. Methodology: The study was conducted among two hundred and sixty-nine children with SCA attending the paediatrics sickle cell clinic at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu; 136 transfused SCA patients as subjects and 133 age and sex matched non-transfused SCA as controls were studied. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the age and sex distribution of the anti-HCV positive subjects and controls P 0.05. Majority of the subjects (66.7) and control (71.4) who tested positive were in lower socio-economic class. Conclusion: HCV infection is not uncommon in children with SCA. There is no significant difference in the sociodemographic characteristics of the HCV positive subjects and controls

Effect of Social Class and Area of Domicile on the Prevalence of Intestinal Helminthiasis in Nursery and Primary School Children in Enugu

Objective:The primary objective of the study was to determine the effect of social class and area of domicile on the prevalence of helminthiasis in nursery and primary school children in Enugu.Subjects and method: This was a cross-sectional study in which stool samples were obtained from 460 nursery and primary school children from different social classes and different areas of domicile and analysed for intestinal helminthiasis using the Kato Katz method.Results: One hundred and sixty-six (36.1) of the 460 children studied lived in the urban area; 215 (46.7) lived in the semi-urban area and 79 (17.2) lived in the urban slum area. The prevalence of intestinal helminthic infection was lowest in children living in urban areas (10.2) and highest in those in urban slums (48.4). There was a significant relationship between residential abode or area of domicile and prevalence of helminthic infection (?2 = 59.54; df = 2; p = 0.001).The prevalence of intestinal helminthic infection was highest in the lower class (50.9); lowest in the upper class (9.7) and intermediate in the middle class (21.7). This trend was statistically significant (?2 = 65.06; df = 2; p = 0.001). Conclusion: It is concluded that the prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis is affected by both areas of domicile and social class of children. Hence; intervention by the government to create better areas of domicile and to improve the social class of its populace will reduce the prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis