Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B virus among haemodialysis patients in Khartoum State

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and the positive risk factors of HBV infection among haemodialysis patients attending dialysis centers in Khartoum State, Sudan. Ninety (n = 90) subjects were investigated during the period from April to August 2012. Most of the subjects examined were males 47 (52.2%) and 43 (47.8%) were females age ranging from 18 – 80 years. The HBsAg, the main serological marker for HBV infection was detected among 11 (12.2%) haemodialysis patients using ELISA. There ware no remarkable difference between the prevalence of HBsAg among married dialysis patients compared to single ones. The results revealed that the highest prevalence rate for HBV infection (16.7%) was among the age group (21 – 40) years. There were a substantial difference between the prevalence of HBsAg among males (17%) compared to females (7%). The data revealed that patients under treatment for (83 – 106) months (20%) had a greater risk in HBV positivist, and indication that duration of dialysis has significant effect in contracting the disease. The results obtained in this study illustrated that the previous jaundice was a profounder to HBV infection among the subjects examined. Blood transfusion was found to be the possible risk factor for the infection, however, no other risk factors (e.g. ‫‪medical interventions and previous surgical operations) wer‬‬e ‫.‪found to be predisposing to the infection‬‬