Prevalence of Hepatitis B virus infection among children attending mohammed shuwa memorial hospital Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria

Hepatitis B virus is a serious public health problem worldwide and major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocel lular carcinoma (HCC). This study was aimed to determined Hepatitis B virus infection among children attending Mohammed Shuwa Memorial Hospital Maiduguri. Out of one hundred serum samples tested, only 8 (8.0%) were positive to HBV. The distribution of hepatitis B virus based on age showed that those between 3 - 5years had higher prevalence of 3(6.7%), followed by 0 - 2years (12.5%), 6- 8 years (6.7%) and 9- 12years (6.3%). Male were more prevalent with hepatitis B virus infection 4 (10%) than their counterpart females 4(6.7%). A direct relationship between the educational status of the patients and the seroprevalence of HBV was observed, higher prevalence was recorded 5 (7.2%) among those that have undergone formal education than non -formal education. However, none of this variables were found to be risk factor of acquiring HBV infection (P>0.05). Th erefore, Hepatitis B virus vaccine should be recommended in all hospitals in Borno State to enable early detection and appropriate management of patients.