Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health problem in the developing countries including Pakistan. This study aimed to investigate various risk factors and prevalence of HBV in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. A total of 1439 individuals (1021 males and 418 females) suspected for hepatitis B infection were screened for HBsAg. All the samples were blindly analyzed for HBV DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Of the total, 49.5% were found positive for HBsAg. Of these HBsAg positive patients, 83.03% were confirmed for HBV DNA. Of the 726 HBsAg negative individuals, 37 (24 males and 13 females) were found positive for HBV DNA. 629 HBV DNA positive individuals include 70.43% male and 29.57% female. Higher prevalence rate (16.53%) was observed in Malakand and lowest (13.35%) in Mardan. Mostly young people with age 16 to 30 years were infected as compared to other age group. Risk factors observed in HBV positive individuals were unhygienic barber practice, blood transfusion, general and dental surgery, unsafe injection and sharing personal items. Trend of sharing personal items was common (20.19%). Extensive vaccination and other preventive measures should be taken to stop the spread of this dreadful disease in the study area.

Key words: Hepatitis B Virus, prevalence, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), risk factor