Screening and linkage to care for medical students with hepatitis B virus infection in Sierra Leone.

Clinical research Hepatitis B virus infection Hepatobiliary system Public health Screening Sierra Leone Virology

Journal

Heliyon
ISSN: 2405-8440
Titre abrégé: Heliyon
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101672560

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
Aug 2020
Historique:
received: 05 06 2020
revised: 25 07 2020
accepted: 05 08 2020
entrez: 18 8 2020
pubmed: 18 8 2020
medline: 18 8 2020
Statut: epublish

Résumé

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is considered a major public health concern for Sierra Leone. Although medical students are at increased occupational risk for HBV infection, little is known about the burden of HBV infection amongst medical students in Sierra Leone. As part of a screening and vaccination campaign, a cross-sectional study on prevalence of HBV among medical students in Freetown was conducted in December 2019. Antigen point of care test was used for HBV screening and data on students' risk history and demographics were collected. Additionally, for students diagnosed positive with HBV, linkage to care and initial assessment data after diagnosis was collected from the HBV clinic they were linked to. One hundred and fifty-seven medical students (77.3%) from year three to six were screened for HBV infection. Almost all students (98.1%) had never been vaccinated against HBV and more than half (56.7%) reported a history of needle stick injuries. The prevalence of HBV infection (Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity) was 10.2% (n = 16). Among HBsAg positive students, 75% (n = 12) were successfully enrolled at chronic HBV clinic within three months of diagnosis. Only one student had evidence of liver cirrhosis and was started on treatment with Tenofovir diproxil fumarate. The prevalence of HBV infection is high among medical students in Sierra Leone. Despite the high prevalence, most of the students linked to care had no evidence of severe liver disease.

Identifiants

pubmed: 32802989
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04673
pii: S2405-8440(20)31517-6
pii: e04673
pmc: PMC7416683
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Pagination

e04673

Informations de copyright

© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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Auteurs

Chiyembekezo Kachimanga (C)

Partners In Health, Sierra Leone.

Musa Bangura (M)

Partners In Health, Sierra Leone.

Emmanuel Nyama (E)

Partners In Health, Sierra Leone.

Michael Mhango (M)

Partners In Health, Sierra Leone.

Vicky Reed (V)

Partners In Health, Sierra Leone.

Marta Patiño Rodriguez (MP)

Partners In Health, Sierra Leone.

Marta Lado (M)

Partners In Health, Sierra Leone.

Classifications MeSH