SEROEPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF HEPATITIS B AND HEPATITIS C AMONG HEALTHY BLOOD DONORS IN DISTRICT MARDAN POPULATION

Abstract

Background: HBV and HCV are the most common causes of liver infections worldwide as one of the major health concerns, especially in developing countries like Pakistan where infection go unnoticed due to lack of early symptoms. This study aims to determine seroprevalence of HBV and HCV among healthy blood donors in District Mardan. Material and methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study based on existing records of blood donors from 1st January, 2025 to 30th April, 2025. Data was collected from local hospital blood bank of District Mardan with a sample size of n=3250 in which n=32 were screened positive for HBV and n= 26 for positive for HCV using ICT kit. On seroprevalence data obtained, Statistical analysis was performed to determine association between demographic variables such as age gender and blood group and infection type (HBV and HCV). Results: The seroprevalence of HBV (0.98%) was slightly higher than that of HCV (0.80%), the distribution of HBV and HCV was high among male then female while female have 2.37 times higher odds of having HBV then HCV. There was significant association between age and hepatitis type, HBV was high among blood donors in age range of 25-24 years and HCV in 55-65 years respectively, each year increase in age increase the odds of being HCV by the factor of 3.32. Conclusion: The seroprevalence rates of HBV and HCV was low in Mardan population but demographic variables like age and gender continue to influence HBV and HCV.