Prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in Faisalabad

ABSTRACT

Blood-borne pathogens like hepatitis B virus [HBV] and hepatitis C virus [HCV] are considered major but preventable public health problems in the developing world. Routes of transmission include unsafe injections, blood, sex and transmission from infected mothers to their babies and many other unusual routes like through barbers, dentists and beauty parlors. In Pakistan, national efforts have been made to reduce potential transmission of HBV and HCV, e.g. HBV vaccination programmes, public health education programmes on safe sex, blood and injection practices and legislation to standardise and ensure safety in blood banks. A common element of these programmes and initiatives is a baseline situation analysis using routine surveillance data, or data from surveys or studies, typically followed by a repeat analysis to determine if any change has occurred as a result of an intervention. Given the paucity of surveillance data in Pakistan, high risk areas are an excellent sites for sentinel surveillance of blood-borne pathogens to determine trends in prevalence and disease distribution defined on social, demographical, geographical, and biological variables. We therefore conducted a baseline analysis of residents in Faisalabad city which is a high risk area as part of a pilot phase to develop a sentinel surveillance system for HBV and HCV infections. Similar analysis are expected to follow data in subsequent years to allow comparisons based on time, place and person to determine trends and evaluate interventions. A total of 193 blood samples were collected from Faisalabad. Blood samples safely reached Laboratory and were tested for HBV and HCV by ELISA technique. Results showed that 4.5% blood samples were reactive for HBV and 22% blood samples were reactive for HCV. In HBV reactive cases co-infection is 22% and in HCV reactive cases co-infection is 4.6%