Epidemiological Survey of the Prevalence of HCV and HBV among the Factory Workers in the Periphery of Lahore

Abstract

Both hepatitis C and hepatitis B are part of the major health-related issues all over the globe. Both of these are viral infections that can be disseminated via sexual contact, blood or by the use of blood products, and through methods of intra-familial transmission. Collection of blood samples of factory workers was done aseptically at KBK electronics. Overall, 272 samples of blood were taken of a variety of individuals and economically accessible ELISA (i.e. enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay) was used to screen the individuals for Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) and also for anti- HCV antibodies. The screening test was done as directed by the instructions of the manufacturer. Names, gender and age group date of each person was collected. Overall, 271 examinees were inspected to check the the presence of HCV and/or HBV. The ages of all the examinees ranged from a minimum of 19 years to a maximum of 50 years of age. The complete overall pervasiveness of both HCV and as well as HBV determined as 18.4% (50/271). In contrast to HBV, HCV has a much higher ubiquity i.e. 16.17% (44/271). On the other hand, that of HBV was only 2.2% (6/271). The individuals revealed a higher percentage of positive results in hepatitis C. HBV occurrence in Lahore is much more than its neighboring areas such as Gujrat with only 0.8% prevalence, Sheikhupura with 1.6%, Narowal with 2.1%, and Hafiz Abad with 2.2% prevalence (PMRC, 2007 to 2009). The results from this study and previous literature highlight the pressing need to also conduct such kinds of experiments in even more populations because by doing so, the areas with a stronger occurrence rate of HCV and HBV can be specified and pointed out and then various methods for treating and even precluding both of these infections, can be implemented effectively.

Hepatitis B and C: Prevalence and Evaluation of Its Associated Risk Factors in General Population of Okara District

“…Gujranwala and Lahore, which are the neighboring cities of Okara, had observed a prevalence of 2.9% and 2.2%, respectively for HBV. Regarding the hepatitis C virus, its occurrence in different cities of Punjab ranged from 1.9% to 13.1%, with an overall prevalence of 6.7% (Khurram et al, 2021). The prevalence of HBV and HCV was so high in the Okara region of the province of Punjab because of the low literacy rate, poor hygienic conditions, and lack of awareness about transmission routes and their spread.…”

“…Certain risk factors are common in both HBV and HCV for its transmission among people including the use of an unsterilized syringe, unscreened blood transfusion, contaminated needle wounds, nose and ear piercing, frequent visits to barber shops for shaving in developing countries, intravenous drug use and sexual contact with infected individuals (Irfan et al, 2016). Punjab is the largest populated province of Pakistan and previous studies were conducted in Rawalpindi (Khan et al, 2020), Lahore (Khurram et al, 2021), Gujranwala (Yasmin, 2012), and Southern Punjab (Mirza et al, 2007) to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV. The elevated prevalence of HBV and HCV in developing countries can be attributed not only to the various community-based risk factors but also to the challenges faced by brittle health and hepatology assistance.…”