CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major global health problem, with an estimated 290 million infections worldwide; international targets set the challenge for this public health threat to be eliminated by 2030 (McNaughton AL, Lourenço J, Bester PA et al 2020). International Sustainable Development Goals for the eradication of HBV pollution set determined targets for 2030. There is an estimated global burden of 290 million cases of HBV infection, the majority of which are undiagnosed and untreated ( O’hara GA, Mcnaughton AL, MapongaT,etal2017).

 According to the greatest current approximations of the Global Burden of Disease study and WHO, viral hepatitis is accountable for around 1.34 million deaths yearly, which is related to the yearly number of deaths from HIV/AIDS (1.3 million), malaria (0.9 million), and tuberculosis (1.3 million), Mortality due to viral hepatitis has increased by 63% since 1990 and is now ranked the seventh most important source of death international; however, global appreciation of the severity of the problem has not been achieved, and a global promise to combat the illness is still. In 2017, HBV infection is a common cause of viral hepatitis and affects more than 257 million people worldwide. Nearly 8% of this international load is in Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 80,000 new infections happening every year (World Health Organization. Global hepatitis report 2017). Additional half of the countries in the Americas (57%) have national policies for deterrence, action, and regulation of viral hepatitis. Only 54% of countries have goals for the elimination of hepatitis B (PAHO and WHO 2019). Africa is the continent with the second largest number of individuals with chronic HBV infection, with an estimated 6.1% of the adult population infected (World Health Organization. Global hepatitis report 2017). Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest burdens of disease with over 60 million living with HBV. The regional prevalence of HBV infection is about 6.1%, with approximately one in every 15 people (1:15) infected (OAT 20220). The current prevalence of Hepatitis B in Cameroon is 11.2% (Bigna, J.J. ∙Amougou, M.A. ∙ Asangbeh, S.L. 2017 ).

  However, sufficient sensitization and preventive measures have been applied in recent years. To ensure these efforts have better outputs, there is a need to frequently monitor the level of awareness of the infection among the Cameroonian population. The present study was therefore designed to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B infection, the level of knowledge and other associated factors among patients in the buea regional Hospital to generate data that could create awareness and preventive measures.

1.2 Statement of problem

Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It is a major global health problem (WHO, 2016). It can cause chronic infection and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer (CDC,2018) The burden of hepatitis B infection is highest in the WHO Western Pacific Region and the WHO African Region, where 116 million and 81 million people, respectively, are chronically infected.(WHO. 2017). Sixty million people are infected in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, 18 million in the WHO South-East Asia Region, 14 million in the WHO European Region and 5 million in the WHO Region of the Americas (WHO. 2017). Also, while on internship at level two, most of the samples the researcher assayed were diagnosed of hepatitis B virus. Lastly, during the researcher’s first clinical internship at level one, she observed that most of the samples assayed were diagnosed hepatitis B virus. Many of these people may not be aware of the infection and hence fail to seek appropriate medical attention therefore progressing to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma reasons why the researcher seeks to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of hepatitis B among patients in the regional hospital Buea.

1.3 Research Objectives

1.3.1 General Objective

To determine the prevalence and risk factors of Hepatitis B virus among adults attending buea regional Hospital.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

1. To determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B with respect to specific age range, marital status and education. 
2. To identify the risk factors of Hepatitis B

1.4 Research Question

1. What is the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus with respect to specific age range, marital status, and education?
2. What are the associated risk factors of Hepatitis B virus among youths of age 18 to 35 years at the Buea regional hospital?