Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa with a range of 8 to 20% prevalence of chronic carriers. Most HBV infections occur early in life by perinatal transmission from the mother to her newborn baby, and horizontal transmission from child to child resulting from blood contact. This study was therefore carried out to assess the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus surface antigenemia (HBsAg) in children born in Ilesha, Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria. A total of 144 children at age range 21 days to 13 years were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in Ilesha using Bio-Rad Monolisa HBsAg Ultra kit [enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), ELISA method]. Twenty (13.9%) children were seropositive for HBsAg. The age bracket 1-5 years had the highest number of children and the highest number of HBsAg positive cases (15.8%). Female children had a higher HBsAg antigenemia of 15.4% compared to 12.7% for the male children. High prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen was found among the children. Focus should be re-intensified on childhood vaccination and information dissemination on the risk and mode of transmission of HBV. Women especially, should be educated on HBV to prevent Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of the infection.

Background: Dengue viruses have been identified as the most important arboviral pathogen in the world. They are transmitted by mosquitoes of Aedes species. While dengue infection is accompanied by little or no subclinical signs in many, about 1-2% may produce clinically severe Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever/Dengue Shock Syndrome. Early recognition, appropriate treatment and elimination of mosquito vectors will help control it. The study is aimed at determining the incidence of dengue infections in Ile-Ife. Materials and Methods: Three millilitres venous blood was collected from each of one hundred and seventy nine patients presenting with fever in the last two weeks, and analyzed for the presence of anti-dengue IgM antibodies using Dengue Virus IgM ELISA kit (DIA.PRO, Italy) according to the manufacturer's instructions while the results and demographic data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: It was observed that 46 (25.7%) of the 179 had detectable IgM antibodies to dengue virus with 9 of them having no detectable malaria parasite. The incidence was 26.5% and 25% in male and female respectively. Further studies will be necessary to confirm the relatedness of blood transfusion as an important risk factor to the transmission of dengue virus. Conclusion:The study established the presence of fresh dengue infections for the first time in Ile-Ife among different groups of people. Clinicians are advised to prioritize laboratory diagnosis, especially of fever.