Conference abstract

Analysis of Hepatitis B surveillance data, Berekum Municipality, Ghana, November 2016

Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2017:3(67).25 Oct 2017.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2017.3.67.179
Archived on: 25 Oct 2017
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Keywords: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, surveillance data, district health management information systems (DHIMS-2)
Oral presentation

Analysis of Hepatitis B surveillance data, Berekum Municipality, Ghana, November 2016

Joseph Gyebi-Buaben1,&, Bedima Duut1, Osei Kuffour Areh1, George Khumalo Kuma1, Charles Lwanga Noora1

1Ghana Health Service, Berekum, Ghana

&Corresponding author
Joseph Gyebi-Buaben, Ghana Health Service, Berekum, Ghana

Abstract

Introduction: globally, an estimated 240 million people are chronically infected with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) with over 686,000 annual deaths. Though HBV is vaccine preventable, prevalence continues to be high, especially in sub-Saharan countries like Ghana. In the past decade, Ghana has included HBV vaccination for children. This study sought to determine the burden and distribution of the HBV to provide information for action by analysing HBV surveillance data in the Berekum Municipality (BM).

Methods: data of blood donors and clinical patients within BM for the period 2011 to 2015 was reviewed. Selected variables were extracted from District Health Management Information Systems (DHIMS-2); entered into MS Excel and analysed for means, proportions and trends.

Results: a total of 20053 were screened for HBV infection from the period 2011 to 2015, comprising 11302(56.4%) blood donors and 8751(43.6%) clinical patients. Among the blood donors, 905(8.0%) were positive with majority 804(7.1%) being males. Among the clinical patients, 1066(12.2%) were positive with majority 654(7.5%) being females. Majority of infections were among the age group 20-29years for both blood donors 423(3.7%) and clinical patients 460(5.3%). Thirteen (0.2%) of children 0-9 years (< 10years) were affected by the disease. The trend of infection is on the decline in Berekum Municipality among blood donors, with the 2013 year recording the highest 279(11.8%) and 2015, the lowest 107(4.3%), whiles among clinical patients, 2011 year recorded the highest 323(18.0%) and 2014, the lowest 155(9.1%).

Conclusion: the prevalence of HBV infection in Berekum Municipality is high, though the trend is on the decline. Males and age-group 20-29 years were the most affected. Continued education, as well as comprehensive evaluation of the current HBV vaccination program in Ghana to determine its overall impact amongst children < 10 years is recommended.