HBV and HCV are two common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that represent a significant public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa and are common in developing countries (15). The primary indicators of the endemicity of HBV and HCV infection in the general population in a given geographic area are hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV (16). According to WHO criteria (17), The prevalence of HBV infection can be graded high when the prevalence is > 8%, intermediate when the prevalence is between 2 and 8%, and low when the prevalence is < 2% (18). Hepatitis C virus infection can be also graded high, moderate, or low when the prevalence is > 3.5, 1.5–3.5%, and ˂.1.5% (19).
In the present study, we found that 14% and 19.9% of the overall Sero-prevalence of HBsAg and Anti-HCV among patients screened for HBV and HCV infection in Guhala Primary Hospital, respectively. Based on the WHO classification, the prevalence of HBV infection in this study was classified as "High". This figure is still high if we compute the general population of Ethiopia as these days it is close to 117 million. In addition, it is assumed that the rate might be increased more if this study is done in different geographical areas. Therefore, HBV and HCV infection was a particular problem that might be due to the possibility all the populations are at risk for HBV and HCV infection (20).
In our study, the prevalence rate of HBsAg 14% was comparable with a study conducted in Gondar among patients attending serology laboratory of Gondar University Hospital 14.4% (3). However, this finding is higher than another study conducted in Gondar among blood donors 4.7% (21), a study done in Gondar among street dwellers 10.9% (22) and medical waste handlers 6%(23), Bahirdar among military personnel 4.2% (24) and among patients Attending at Addis Alem Primary Hospital 3.9%(25), Mekele among blood donors 6.2% (26), Addis Ababa among blood donors 3.0% (27), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia among medical waste handlers 6.3%(28), in Addis Ababa among general population 7% (29), southern Ethiopia among VCT clients 5.7%(30), Jigjiga among blood donors 10.9% (31), in Eretria on blood donors 2.6%(32), and 2.0%(33), and Northern Nigeria among blood donors 10.9% (34), and the study reported Japan 0.8%(35). Furthermore, our study was lower than the study conducted among donors at Bahir Dar, Ethiopia 25%(36), in southeast Ethiopia among patients with chronic hepatitis 22.3%(37), in Addis Ababa among CLD patients 57.5%(38), and in Nigeria among blood donors 18.6% (39). These variations may be attributed to variances in sample size, geographic variance, detection technique, cultural practices, and behavioral divergences for the risk factors. Additionally, the degree of HBV endemicity is frequently correlated with the major mode of transmission. Moreover, the variation may also result from various research designs and techniques for the HBV infection assay.
In the current study, the overall prevalence of anti-HCV was 19.9%. This study was higher than the study conducted Gondar among patients attending serology laboratory of Gondar University Hospital 12.4% (3), southeast Ethiopia among patients with chronic hepatitis 3.6% (24), in Nigeria among Patients with Suspected Liver Diseases 4.4% (40), in southeastern Nigeria among the outpatients attending the general hospital 4.39% (41), and 12.9% in Nigeria among urban and rural communities 12.9% (42), and in Pakistan among the patients reporting in surgical OPD 10.8% (43), in contrast this study lower than study conducted in Addis Ababa among CLD patients 57.5%(38), and in Pakistan among patients seeking hospital care 23.5% (44).
In this study, the highest prevalence was recorded among the age group between 31–40 years 33 (22.3%) which was higher than the seroprevalence of all other age groups 0–20 years 20 (9.3%), 21–30 years 42 (12.24%), and > 40 years 29 (3.3%). This study is in agreement with studies conducted in Ghana on blood donors, revealing that the highest seroprevalence was among the 30–39 years age group 8.9% (45). However, our study is not in agreement where the highest prevalence was recorded among the age group between 21–30 years 48 (2.4%) (25).
In the present study, Among the study participants, the positivity rate of HBsAg was higher in males (17.1%) than females. Our study is in disagreement with studies done in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia where the positivity rate of HBsAg was higher in females (3.0%) compared to males 17 (0.8%)(25) And a study done in Ghana where the positivity rate of HBsAg was higher in females (14.3%) compared to males 17 (6.7%)(45). This vibration may be brought on by cultural activities like tattooing, bloodletting, and circumcisions that put a person at risk for HBV infection, as well as vaccination status (46). Similarly, the positivity rate of HCV was higher in males (14.4%) compared to females. However, This finding is inconsistent with a study conducted in Gondar where the positivity rate of HCV was higher in males (7.6%) compared to females (4.13%) (3), and in Pakistan where the positivity rate of HCV was higher in males (2.5%) compared to females (0.9%)(44). This inconsistency might be due to variations in the study population,-screening methods, and study design
In the current study, the prevalence of HBV-HCV co-infection was 3.8%. This finding is consistent with studies conducted in Gondar 2% (3) and in Burkina Faso 2.2% (47). However, this finding is inconsistent with the study conducted in Nigeria 8.3% (48). We attempted to shed light on the hepatitis virus prevalence in our study because it hasn't been well investigated in this area.