PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS INFECTION AMONG FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION STUDENTS ATTENDING THE SCHOOL CLINIC, KONGO, ZARIA, NIGERIA *Aminu M, Alabi OD and Ashafa AM Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria *Corresponding Author: Dr. Maryam Aminu; maryamaminu@yahoo.com; 08033287031 37th Nigerian Society for Microbiology Conference, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. 2nd-5th September 2014 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Table 1: Prevalence of Hepatitis B surface Antigen in association to socio-demographic data DISCUSSION The prevalence rate of 7.0% obtained in this study is lower than the 12.5% obtained in a previous study conducted in Ahmadu Bello University, Main Campus Samaru Zaria. Majority of the infection was recorded among students in age group 21-30years which might be because more exposure to the predisposing factors of the infection. The infection was higher among female than male students probably due to chance as the difference was not statistically significant. Out of the seven positive cases, one was confirmed to be in an infectious stage (recent infection) due to the presence of HBeAg while the other cases were resolving as a result of the positivity to HBeAb. Since HBeAg is associated with high infectivity, there is the likelihood of this student excreting the virus and spreading it to others. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a DNA virus belonging to the Hepadnaviridae family. Over 2 billion individuals have serological evidence of current or past HBV infection. ~360 million chronically infected individuals (HBsAg positive) are at risk of developing HBV-related liver disease with 500,000–700,000 deaths per year worldwide. Hepatitis B positive individual confers 20% risk of passing the infection to another person. Asymptomatic individual can transmit the infection via personal contact, blood transfusion, unprotected sex and other means of contact with fluids of the patient. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among Federal College of Education (FCE) Students attending the school clinic in Kongo, Zaria, Kaduna State,Nigeria. METHODS Table 2: Prevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen in association to risk factors From April to August, 2013, 100 blood samples were collected from consenting students enroled in the stduy and analyzed for HBsAg using immunochromatographic method and ELISA (Diagnostic Automation Inc. USA). The students Bio-data was obtained using questionnaire to establish the possible risk factors that might be associated with the virus. CONCLUSION The study showed Hepatitis B to be endemic among students in the study area. Age-group, blood transfusion, and knowledge of infection were risk factors identified to be associated with the infection during the study. Enlightenment programmes aimed at educating the public about the dangers and factors that can predispose to the disease should be strengthened. Proper screening of blood before transfusion is highly recommended. RESULTS Out of the 100 samples analyzed, 7 (7.0%) were reactive to HBsAg. Of the 48 female enrolled in the study, 4 (8.3%) were positive while 3 (5.8% ) of the 52 male were positive (p=0.919). Single students had the highest prevalence rate of 7.4% (5/68), followed by the married students who had a prevalence rate of 6.9% (2/29 ) ( P=0.862 ). Students in age group 21-30 years had the highest prevalence rate of 9.5% (6/63), while a lower prevalence of 7.9% (1/13) was observed among those in age group 11-20 years (p = 0.047). Among the risk factors studied, knowledge of the infection (p=0.032), and blood transfusion (p=0.022) were statistically associated with Hepatitis B, while the other risk factors were not. Table 3: Serological markers of each phase of Hepatitis B Virus Infection REFERENCES Ibrahim et al. (2005). Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B surface Antigen among Women attending Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. Nig J Para 29(1): 35-41. Shepard et al. (2006). Hepatitis B virus infection: Epidemiology and vaccination. Epidemiol Rev 28:112‑25. Forbi et al. (2009). Serological markers and risk factors for hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses among students in a Nigerian university. East Afr J Public Health 2009;6:152‑5Pennap et al. (2011). Res. J. of Med. Sci. 5(2): 90-93. Ott et al. (2012). Global epidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection: New estimates of age‑specific HBsAg sero‑prevalence and endemicity. Vaccine 30:2212‑9. Aminu et al. (2013). Prevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen among asymptomatic Students in the Nigeria University. Ann of Afr Med 12 (1) 55-58. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We acknowledge all the personnel in the College Clinic and students enrolled in the study for their cooperation.