Seroprevalence and predictors for hepatitis C antibodies among students in tertiary educational institutions of Nigeria

Abstract

Hepatitis C (Hep.C) virus infection is highly prevalent with elevated undetected cases globally. The goals of this study were to evaluate seroprevalence and potential predictors associated with HepC antibodies among students in two tertiary educational institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria. Cross-sectional research was conducted with structured questionnaires on socio-demographics and potential predictors for HepC infection which were filled by the participants. Three millilitre of blood sample was collected from each participant to screen for anti-Hepatitis C Virus antibodies. In each tertiary educational institution, 166 participants were recruited. Ethical approval and informed consents were obtained. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used. In both institutions, the majority of the participants (263, 79.2%) were within the ages of 21-25 years. One hundred and thirty-two (79.5%) and one hundred and thirty-one (78.9%) were within the ages of 21-25 years in the College of Education, Oro and Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, respectively. Also, ninety-nine (59.6%) in the College of Education and ninety-five (57.2%) in Kwara State Polytechnic were females. Zero (0.0) and 0.6 percent seroprevalence of HepC virus infection were found among participants in the College of Education, Oro and Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin respectively. Also, none of the demographic, social and medical variables was significantly associated with the seroprevalence of HepC infection. The seroprevalence rates of HepC virus infection were low in the institutions studied. None of the risk factors was associated with HepC positivity.