Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been present in our communities for quite sometime now. However, majority of the people especially in rual areas are not aware of its devastating effects as adjudged by their socio-cultural practices.
Methods: Three hundred randomly selected residents of Zawan community (comprising 193 males and 107 females) were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) presence in their sera. Other information was obtained with the aid of a structured questionnaire and results analysed using Epi Info 6 statistical software.
Results: The prevalence of HBV in Zawan village was found to be 12.6% (9% among males and 3.6% among females). The risk factors associated with HBV transmission were tonsillectomy, tattooing, use of sharp objects as well as trading. Marital status was also found to be a significant risk factor as there was a high prevalence of HBV infection among the widowed/divorced/separated group.
Conclusion: HBV infection is endemic in our rural communities just as it is in the urban areas and efforts should be made to step up its health education campaign as well as the interventional mechanisms including immunization.