Original Research

Seroprevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B, C and D virus infection amongst patients with features of hepatitis in a referral hospital in Botswana: A cross-sectional study

Sajini Souda, Julius C. Mwita, Francesca Cainelli, Naledi B. Mannathoko, Motswedi Anderson, Sikhulile Moyo
Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases | Vol 36, No 1 | a275 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajid.v36i1.275 | © 2021 Sajini Souda, Julius C. Mwita, Francesca Cainelli, Naledi B. Mannathoko, Motswedi Anderson, Sikhulile Moyo | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 20 January 2021 | Published: 19 July 2021

About the author(s)

Sajini Souda, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
Julius C. Mwita, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
Francesca Cainelli, Department of Medicine, Raffles Medical Group, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Naledi B. Mannathoko, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
Motswedi Anderson, Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana
Sikhulile Moyo, Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana

Abstract

Background: Viral hepatitis is a major global health problem. There is a paucity of data from Botswana on the seroprevalence of markers of hepatitis. The objective of the study was to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis D virus (HDV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in patients with clinical features of hepatitis and/or altered liver function tests.

Method: This cross-sectional study was done at Princess Marina Hospital (PMH) in Gaborone, Botswana, from February 2015 to July 2016. It involved 328 adult patients with any of the following: jaundice, history of liver disease and/or increased serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and serum bilirubin of > 2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN).

Results: Active or chronic active hepatitis (hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] positive) was identified in 46.7% of patients. Antibodies to HDV infection were detected in 4.6% of the HBsAg-positive patients and antibodies to HCV infection in 4.3% of the study patients. Immunity against HBV infection was noted in 34.5% of patients. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection was self-reported by 42.7% of HBsAg-positive patients with known HIV status.

Conclusion: High prevalence rate of HBV, HCV, HDV infection and HIV co-infection was observed in patients with liver disease attending PMH.


Keywords

hepatitis B virus infection; hepatitis D virus infection; hepatitis C virus infection; human immunodeficiency virus infection; prevalence; risk factors; liver disease; Botswana

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