Potential risk factors and seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among students in a tertiary institution in southern Nigeria

Abstract

Hepatitis is a liver disease that is highly contagious. The disease usually results from infection with the virus, Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Infection with Hepatitis C virus is among themajor causes of chronic liver disease globally. The infection can begin as acute infection but in some people, the virus remains in the body for a long time, resulting in chronic disease, long-term liver problems such as liver fibrosis and cirrhosis including liver cancers. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of HCV infection and potential risk factors among students in a tertiary educational institution. A total of 500 apparently healthy University of Benin students with a mean age of 23+6 years were screened for HCV antibodies using a rapidlateral visual chromatographic immunoassay kit (WHOBC-Labman,Hamburg, Germany) (serum/plasma) method. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain the student's age and sex including HCV potential risk factors (regular alcohol consumption, smoking habit, sexual life style, skin piercing and history of blood transfusion) indulged in by the students. SPSS statistical package and Chi square version 20 was used for data analysis.The results obtained in the study showed HCV prevalence of 7(1.4%) of the total students. Male studentswere shown to have higher prevalence of HCV infection 4(1.6%) than the female students 3(1.2%). Students aged 21-24years and 17-20years had the highest rate of HCV infection, 4(1.7%) and 3(2.1%) respectively. Male students were equally observed to have the highest number of indulgence in potential risk factors than their female counterparts. Prevalence of Hepatitis C virus antibody among University of Benin students was 1.4%. Alcohol consumption, smoking and skin piercing are potential risk factors to acquiring HCV infection among students of University o fBenin,Benin City, Nigeria.

Keywords:  Hepatitis C virus, Risk factors, Prevalence, University of Benin students, Nigeria